Inhumanity
by Sub-Zero MKA
Summary: The chasm between those that are human and those who are not is growing wider by the day. No one knows this better than the Avengers, who protect an embattled world constantly menaced by inhuman threats. Threats both terrestrial and extraterrestrial. Part VI of The Masters AU. Rated for Language.
1. Red With Envy

_**A/N:** Here is Part VI of my Avengers AU. Sorry for the long wait on this and What's Wrong With Six. I promise I haven't dropped that, but life has been hectic the last several months. Car accident, grandfather in the hospital for a spell and is still dealing with problems with both his legs; plus work and my monthly expenses have doubled. But enough about my problems; I'm back and have a new story for you guys._

 _Enjoy! :)_

* * *

 _ **Inhumanity**_

 _ **Red with Envy**_

 **Los Angeles, California**

 **February 8, 2016 – 3:45 PM**

Loki. The Masters of Evil. Hydra. Ultron.

In the last three years, the world had seen four different would be conquerors. They were all close, each one coming to within one battle of reaching their lofty goal. Standing between them and victory were the Avengers, forever the buffer zone between evil and world domination. If not the original six, then the expanded nine hero roster or the New Avengers, or all of them at once. How many ever it took, they always won the day in the end.

Because of their presence – and that of the X-Men, who returned from their very lengthy space excursion a few months ago – the world saw nearly one full year of uninterrupted peace and security. The entire population could finally relax without having to worry if some homicidal maniac was about to blow up their city.

Clint's team of Avengers, the West Coast Avengers, played a key role in that maintained peace. Since the Avengers remained in New York City, many villains moved west to avoid detection.

Natasha said before they separated that Los Angeles was like the wild west, and she was right. Many villains moved there for big scores. They were hoping they could overwhelm She-Hulk, who for years had been the lone hero, with sheer numbers. Spectrum put a very swift end to that thinking.

However, despite peace being maintained on a global scale, that didn't mean that there weren't some who rose up to disturb it locally.

"I NEED BACKUP, RIGHT FREAKING NOW!"

Over the last year – in fact, a few weeks after the events in Durban, South Africa – there had been rumors of several attacks by the Hulk. Of course, the Avengers immediately knew that _their_ Hulk, Bruce Banner, wasn't involved. The attacks were _too_ precise, _too_ coordinated for the lumbering mass of lividity to have been behind. Still, the eye witness accounts were too accurate to ignore. They all recounted a being that was the same size and build as the Hulk wreaking havoc with his extreme strength.

There were a few issues, though. They all described him as being some shade of _red_. Bruce Banner, as everyone in the world knew, turned green. It wouldn't have been the first time Hulk changed colors, though. There was a time, for instance, that he turned gray.

Also, they described streaks of fire billowing off of him whenever he exerted himself. That was another piece of evidence supporting there being another Hulk. The fact that there may have been another one wasn't surprising; there was a different one on their team, after all. However, no one could recall Bruce saying he ever put himself in a position for someone else to be contaminated.

The last reported incident involving this red Hulk was in San Francisco, so the WCA went to investigate. Super Bowl week had just wrapped up the day before, so it was imperative that they have the situation contained quickly so no one got hurt. Clint, Rhodey, Monica, and Jen went to San Francisco, while Bobbi stayed behind in LA with Sam to try and get in contact with Bruce. No luck so far.

They split up to cover more ground more quickly. Clint, being the only one without powers or a high tech suit of armor, was the poor bastard who made first contact. He stepped inside a warehouse at the B.A.E Dry Dock and found it ripping open crates emblazoned with the Oscorp logo. Clint tried to duck out, but was caught. Immediately, the scarlet-colored Hulk roared and gave chase.

Clint was just an average human. He worked out every day and kept himself in tip-top shape so he could keep up with his superhuman teammates. As such, he was pretty fast for a man his age and size. Still, this Hulk was so much faster than his size should have allowed.

Clint weaved in between towering stacks of crates to try and lose his pursuer, but every corner he turned was nullified by the behemoth just plowing right through the stack. Large metal crates tumbled to the ground, creating a lot of noise and attracting the attention of his teammates.

 _=Hang tight, Hawkeye!=_ Monica chirped through the comm.

Clint was only human, so he was starting to run out of steam. His adrenaline helped to mitigate his exhaustion, but his body could only take so much.

He leaned against a crate to catch his breath. "Please… hurry…" he wheezed. A short distance away, he could hear the thudding footsteps and the sound of melting cement a short distance away. "God."

He notched a flare arrow and turned in the direction of the footsteps. He counted to five, then leaped out and loosed the flare. To his absolute surprise, the Hulk closed his eyes to block out the intense flash of light.

"No way." Clint took off running again, the Hulk right on his tail. "Man, where's Thor when you need him!"

Behind him, the Hulk slammed his fist into the pavement, causing the ground between him and Clint to quake violently and crumble into pieces. That wasn't all, though; a wave of what seemed to be fire surged through the cement, quickly catching up to Clint and threatening to incinerate him.

Suddenly, just when he ran out of room, Rhodey swooped down and airlifted him to safety atop a crate. "You alright, Hawk?"

"What'd you do that for?" he asked, indignant. "I had him right where I wanted him!"

Rhodey chuckled and turned to scan the red Hulk. "Yep, he's gamma powered. But he's putting out a tremendous amount of gamma energy. More than Banner, actually."

Monica streaked up to them, then circled behind the Hulk to hem him in. Soon after her, Jen leaped in front of it. "End of the road, copycat."

This was the first time any of them got a good look at him. He stood, easily, at nine feet tall, and was a mass of crimson muscle. He had jet black hair, cut high and tight, and soulless yellow eyes, no pupils.

Instead of roaring incoherently, the Hulk grinned at seeing Jennifer. "Just who I was waiting for," he said. His voice was deep and booming.

The heroes were shocked. "Did he just talk?"

"Uh, yeah."

He roared, which was what they were expecting him to do in the first place, and lunged forward to attack Jen. His strength was tremendous. One punch, which she blocked, sent her skidding back several yards, leaving a pair of trenches in the ground where her feet dug through the cement.

Jennifer was no slouch. In her human form, Clint made her begin lifting weights every other day once he found out that She-Hulk's strength was proportional to hers. After several months, she was able to manhandle Rhodey in his armor during their training sessions. She also held her own against Thor in a wrestling contest during one of his visits. She was one of the strongest people on the planet, without question.

Knowing this, she charged headlong at the Hulk. She was faster than he was, and used this to her advantage. She ducked under his punch and landed a solid knee to his side. The ground trembled when she landed four more punches, but he didn't budge an inch.

"And they call you a Hulk," he taunted as he whirled around, fist flying through the air. Jen wasn't prepared for the sudden move and caught the punch flush. She was sent flying back hundreds of feet before crashing into a pile of overturned crates.

Rhodey and Monica leaped into action. Rhodey unleashed everything his armor had: missiles, .50 caliber bullets from his shoulder mounted Gatling gun and a fully powered unibeam.

Red Hulk girded himself and withstood the onslaught without budging. In fact, when the unibeam hit him, his lips split into a wide grin. The flames generated from his body grew more intense by the second.

 _"He's absorbing the energy from the unibeam,"_ Jocasta informed him as she cut off the beam. _"His gamma signature has just increased tenfold._

"Great." Monica sighed.

"Play distraction," Clint said as he climbed down the ground. "I have an idea."

She nodded and shifted into her light form and flew after him. "Hey!" She fired several beams of light at his feet, leaving large pock marks where they struck.

The Hulk regarded her briefly, chuckled, then went on to ignore her in preference of lunging after Rhodey.

"Hey! What the hell?!"

This Hulk was much, much more intelligent than the original Hulk. He knew that Monica had no other means of attacking him, other than energy, which he could absorb. In fact, he could absorb _her_ if he could get a hold of her, but knew that chasing her around would allow the other Avengers to regroup.

Monica gritted her teeth. _There has to be… Got it!_ "Guys, hit your audio blockers."

The others nodded and switched on the audio blockers they were wearing in their ears, which, as the name suggested, blocked out all incoming audio waves.

She shifted into a sound energy form she gained during an encounter with Klaw and circled around to interpose herself between the red Hulk and Rhodey. She unleashed a massive sonic wave that engulfed him. It tore through the pavement with ease and pushed aside any nearby crates.

The Hulk tried to stand tall against the vibratory attack, but the assault on his eardrums made it too difficult. Green blood dripped from his nose and ears. He fell to his knees and gritted his teeth, neck taut from his exertions.

" _ **Enough!**_ " he roared. He roared as the flames around him flared and expanded outward in a wave that threatened to engulf them.

Thinking quickly, Monica switched to her gamma form in an instant and absorbed the energy from the burst. However, as she did so, the Hulk rose to his feet and slammed his hands together, sending them crashing to the ground. He took the distraction as a chance to leap away.

By the time someone rose to their feet, he was just a small dot on the horizon.

"He's gone." Monica sighed again and shifted back to her normal formal. "Everyone okay?"

Clint rose to his feet and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, as soon as my head stops spinning."

"What was that thing?" Rhodey wondered aloud. Jocasta reported that the burst of fire he used to escape was in fact a burst of gamma radiation. A very powerful burst of gamma radiation.

"Don't know." Clint noticed Jen explode out of the pile of crates she was buried in and leap toward them. "Maybe Shulkie knows."

She landed a few feet from them, creating a sizable crater beneath. "Where'd he go?"

"He left about a minute ago," Monica said. "Looked like he knew you."

She huffed out a breath, likely to calm down after being amped up for round two. There was a large purple bruise on the side of her face that she was rubbing as she answered. "Nah, never seen him before."

"He's smart," Rhodey noted. "He knew that Monica could only be a distraction. And he could talk."

"Nothing worse than a smart Hulk," Clint said with a shake of his head. His façade was given away when he smirked after seeing Jen's glare. "Besides you, Shulk."

There was nothing left to do at the docks. There wasn't any trace left behind by the red Hulk, so they couldn't determine his identity through DNA. However, there was one more thing Clint wanted to check out. The warehouse where he first encountered him. He was looking for something, and Clint felt that it was important that they find out what exactly.

The warehouse looked as though a tornado had been through it. Boxes and crates were strewn all across the space, along with their contents. Footprints were burned into the floor leading from the entrance. "Something in here was important enough for him to show up in the middle of the day."

There was only one box still intact in the very back corner. Jen ripped the top off and reached inside. "Whoa." She pulled out a large rectangular machine with a plethora of different switches and buttons. There was a large screen on the front and some kind of node at the top. "What is this?"

The Oscorp logo was emblazoned on the back. "Not sure," Rhodey answered. "Knowing Osborn, there's no telling." Jocasta informed him that the machine wasn't listed on Oscorp's official shipment list. "Black market, it seems."

"Not surprising. Maybe Phil knows. We can send it up to him once we get it back."

"Maybe let Tony have a look at it?" Monica suggested.

"Don't see why not. I'll have Bobbi give him a call while we're on the way back." Clint led the team out of the warehouse and back to the quinjet.

While the red Hulk escaped, he did so empty handed and without any loss of life. All in all, that was a victory as far as they were concerned.


	2. A Stark Realization

_**A Stark Realization**_

 **Avengers Compound, Los Angeles, CA**

Hours later, the team returned to the Avengers Compound. The fifteen-acre estate was a former SHIELD facility that doubled as a safe house for former director Nick Fury and current director Phil Coulson. Once SHIELD folded in on itself after Hydra was exposed, it fell into disuse. After Ultron was defeated, Coulson reinstituted SHIELD, but the organization – if it could actually even be called that – was so small that they saw no need for it. Coulson decided to give it to his former asset and his new team.

The building was situated just in front of a mountainside that had been excavated to facilitate the installation of two levels fifty feet beneath the basement. These two sublevels were where the team conducted all of their confidential team activities. A vehicle garage and quinjet hangar were installed in the cliff side also, concealed from public eyes by Starktech camouflage. The estate also includes 250 feet of private beachfront. This, according to Clint and Jen, was the most important feature.

The neo-Mediterranean estate contained five levels – two above ground floor, and three basements. The main floor was where public functions – such as press conferences, formal dining, interviews and the like – were held, in the east wing main ballroom. Informal meetings were held in the living area in the west wing. It contained a library – which actually ran off into the second floor – large enough to contain 20,000 books, novels, novellas, magazines, tomes and other things. The kitchen was there, as well as the patio, sundeck and an outdoor Olympic-sized swimming pool.

The second floor held the administrative affairs of the team, as well as non-classified organizational material, inside an office/study mostly only used by Clint, the team's leader and chairman. Also on this floor were the team's quarters, including the large, luxuriant master bedroom shared by Clint and Bobbi. Jennifer also had an office on this floor where she could work on court cases in private. It contained a small bookshelf that held all of her legal reference books and a large filing cabinet containing all of her past case files. There was a recreation room with a pool table, pinball machines, and gaming consoles hooked up to two sixty-inch flat screen televisions in the west wing. Second floor balconies overlooked the front hall and both wings.

The basement of the main building contained the heating system, a large Stark Industries power generator and the house server that contained Jocasta's matrix.

Sub-basement one held the private infirmary and Bobbi's bio-chemical research facilities. Sub-basement two held all of the team's operational and strategic meetings. The main computer was located there, and it held same forensic files, operational records and global security records as the Avengers Mansion – the New Avengers base of operations – and the Avengers Facility. The computers were in constant communication with the other Avengers' bases, as well as with the Fantastic Four – though they were still on their leave of absence – and the X-Men. It also held the power generator for both sub-basement levels.

"Oh honey, we're home!"

"About time." Tony Stark stood from the sofa he had been sitting in on the second floor and made his way down the steps. "To this day, I still can't believe these guys voted you team leader. Was D-Man too busy? Do you have pictures of Ms. Walters sunbathing topless on the roof?"

"As if," she scoffed.

"Great to see you too, Tony."

Tony actually managed to make good on his word. Eleven months and three weeks after Ultron and not once had he donned the Iron Man armor outside of public appearances. Despite the length of time, it was still strange – not to mention quiet – without him around. "Your ex-wife called and said you had something for me to look at?"

Clint gave him a cross look, then cocked his head toward the device Jen was placing on a nearby table. "We found that at the docks in San Fran. That red Hulk guy was looking for it when I stopped him single-handedly."

Tony chuckled loudly and strode over to the table. "By yourself, huh?" He picked it up and turned it over several times, becoming acquainted with every inch. "With an anti-Hulk arrow, I presume."

"Yep. Guy didn't stand a chance." Clint stopped him, but not exactly how he would have liked for it to be remembered.

He had wondered sometimes what it would have been like if the Hulk kept Bruce's intelligence when he transformed. Near limitless strength and the brains to use it the right way was a scary proposition. It was exactly that that made this new Hulk so terrifying.

He was able to shrug off Jen's hits like they were nothing. Clint could only assume that she was going seriously – why wouldn't she have been? If he had the intelligence to use that strength in the best way for maximum damage or for whatever his purpose was, they were going to have a hard time stopping him. It was times like this that he really missed Thor and Bruce.

He looked up and noticed Tony prodding the node at the top. "Looks like a scanner of some kind," he said absently while rubbing his goatee.

"Any idea what it's supposed to scan?" Bobbi asked.

He shook his head, but didn't answer verbally. His brow was creased from concentration and something else that Clint couldn't quite place. "Gonna need some time with this," Tony eventually said. "Osborn made it, so it's absolutely nothing good."

"I figure we'll see big red again, eventually, so at least find out what it does," Clint said. They were going to see that guy again; given the way he knew Jen. In fact, he was willing to bet that they were going to see him again, very soon.

He noticed Jen walking toward the elevator leading to the sub-basements and hurried to catch up to her. "Hey, that guy knew you, I think."

She stepped inside and waited for him to board as well before answering. "Yeah. That's got me all weirded out."

The temptation to insinuate that it was a jealous ex-boyfriend was strong, but he fought it off when he caught her face. She looked anxious. Clint felt his lips tug downward. "Hey, we're going to stop this guy. Somehow."

"Yeah. I know." She sighed and leaned her head back against the cold metal walls of the elevator. "It could be anyone, but I think it's one of Ross'."

That wouldn't have surprised him. Gen. Thunderbolt Ross was responsible for Abomination, Absorbing Man and, indirectly, The Leader. His quest for Bruce's capture led him to make countless questionable decisions, all in the name of security. Men like him didn't stop until he got what he wanted. "Any idea why he would want you?"

A small smile quirked up on her face. "He's wanted me as a backup in case he can't get to Bruce for years. But, because I'm a public servant and a hero around here, the local government said he can't have me. Now I think he wants me just out of personal pride." She pouted softly. "And here I thought he had a crush on little ol' me."

Clint chuckled softly. "Can't blame him if he did." The elevator stopped on sub-basement two and the two Avengers got off. They found Rhodey and Sam looking up at a map of the US peppered with sixteen red dots. The dots were scattered; there was no discernable pattern between any of them. "What's up?"

"We're trying to determine just what it is the red Hulk is trying to do," Sam said. "He's been spotted sixteen times in sixteen different places. Hasn't been to the same place twice, nor has he been there for more than a few minutes. As soon as he was done with whatever it was he was doing there, he was in the wind."

"Maybe it wasn't him but someone he was working with? Were there any other crimes while he was there? Robbery or something?" Jen suggested.

" _One moment, please,"_ Jocasta said suddenly. Literally a moment later, she spoke again. _"There were only three robberies during the red Hulk's rampages – in Denver, Colorado, Birmingham, Alabama, and Rochester, New York. There were, however, sixteen break-ins at research facilities in the aforementioned cities, plus every other city he was spotted in."_

"So, then his rampages were just a cover up," Clint said. "What was stolen?"

" _From Denver, an energy transistor; from Birmingham, a gamma regulator; and from Rochester, a flux compacitor."_

No one had any idea what any of those machines did. "Okay. So, we now know that he had something big planned, and from the sounds of it, it has something to do with gamma radiation. Bruce is definitely going to be the recipient of whatever this guy has going on." Rhodey turned off the computer screen and headed for the elevator. "Let's tell Tony and see what he thinks."

This had Ross' fingerprints all over it. Only he would be brazen enough to attack American cities after they had suffered so much ten months ago, and delusional enough to think that what he was doing was for their own good.

They emerged from the elevator to find that Tony was still looking that the machine. "Hey, I think I know what that is now," Clint said. "It's a gamma scanner. You know, to detect gamma radiation."

Tony paused briefly, then cursed under his breath. "It's Ross. It has to be."

"We agree. We have to get in touch with Bruce and warn him that Ross is up to something."

"Do either of you know where he went?" Sam asked both Jen and Tony.

Tony immediately shook his head, while Jen was a bit more reserved. "He told me not to contact him unless it was an emergency," she responded, a bit sheepish that she only just then remembered she had his phone number. "I'll go call him now."

As she left, Bobbi walked in, holding a piece of paper in her hand. "Rhodey's armor managed to record a straight on snapshot of our new Hulk, so I had Jo run a face trace using the same facial recognition parameters we would use for Jen and Bruce." She handed Clint the paper with the results.

His eyes scanned the paper carefully. He read it once, twice, and then a third time to make sure he was reading it right; but still, he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "No way."

Tony looked at the paper from over his shoulder. "The—there's no way." He snatched the paper out of his hands to bring it closer to his face, as if doing that would somehow change the order of the words. "Can't be."

" _Sir, I am offended that you believe I am somehow incorrect,"_ Jocasta said, indignant. _"That reflects poorly on your engineering prowess, I believe."_

He gave the ceiling a cross look, then returned his gaze to the paper. "It has to be. Because to agree would be suggesting that I believe that Gen. Thaddeus Ross, who has devoted the rest of his life to killing Bruce, would turn himself into a gamma monster."

The paper that he and Clint had read stated that there was a 75% match: Gen. Ross was the red Hulk.

"I agree," Clint stated. "It's just isn't possible. Sorry, Jo."

Bobbi could only shrug. "That's what the computer came up with. I'll send this image up to SHIELD and see what they can come up with." She left to do exactly that.

"We should call Cap and fill him in. Red Hulk, or Ross, or whoever he is, may hit Manhattan next and they need to be prepared," Rhodey said. That was reasonable, so no one said anything out of disagreement.

If Ross turned himself into a gamma monster, that meant that there were no depths he wasn't willing to sink to rid the world of the Hulk. But there was a very obviously irony in all of this. If this was true, that meant that Ross turned himself into the one thing he hated more than anything else. If he succeeded and managed to kill Bruce for good, he would only replace him as the biggest threat on the planet, just as he had demonized Bruce into being.

That was an irony that couldn't have escaped Ross, which only made this even more unnerving as it showed that he was willing to do anything, even demonize himself, to win.

"So, what are you guys doing for Valentine's Day?" Tony asked after the room had fallen into a tense silence.

They welcomed the sudden distraction. "Not sure yet. If this red Hulk situation is wrapped up soon, I guess Bobbi and I can go to dinner or something." Clint and Bobbi had only recently become an official couple. Coupled with hectic hero schedules, they agreed to take things very slowly. So far, so good; it had been a year and they had only wanted to elope twice. "You and Pep?"

Tony and Pepper got married in August. Tony figured that since he was retired from Iron Man, it was as good a time as any to tie the knot with the woman who had been by his side through practically everything. "Not sure, either. I can give her whatever she wants, but I'm not sure what that is."

"Keep it simple, stupid," Clint said. "Have dinner in a botanical garden. I'm sure she'd love that more than buying her a new car or some nonsense."

Tony raised a contemplative eyebrow. "Can you do that? Wait, of course I can; I'm Tony Stark."

"There you go. Not so hard, now is it?"

"Not at all. Good thing Pep likes simplicity." He glanced at Rhodey, who appeared to be silently praying to be forgotten about. "And you, platypus?"

He sighed heavily. "Same thing I do every year, Tony. Run a full diagnostic on my armor, stock up of candy, sends flowers to Mom and Lila and then watch Top Gun. Alone."

Tony shook his head sadly. "Really? Everyone else is hooking up and you're just intent on remaining forever alone?"

"Yep," he answered unrepentantly. "I like being single. No responsibilities, no worrying about her safety while I'm away, no having to keep my identity a secret or being afraid she'll blab to her girlfriends." He shook his head.

"Nat is the same way," Clint said. "Except she cleans all her guns and nitpicks the new Bond movies." He used to be single, so he could understand the appeal. Not to say that he would rather be single than with Bobbi, but he could understand why Rhodey wanted his freedom. "Valentine's Day is overrated, anyway."

"Amen to that," Sam agreed.

"Fine, fair enough," Tony said. "And you, Sam?"

"I have a hot date," he answered with a huge grin.

"Oh, yeah? Who's the lucky lady?"

"Redwing."

The other three men's grins all disappeared lightning fast. "You mean your pet falcon, Redwing?"

Sam adopted a pet falcon from a wildlife preserve a few months ago. When he came of age, he started using him in crime-fighting. "Yep."

"That… is somehow even more pathetic than Rhodey being alone."

Sam shrugged. "Hey, it's better than nothing. It's not like he knows what's going on anyway."


	3. Trafficking

_**Trafficking**_

 **Avengers Compound**

 **6:50 PM**

Clint and Bobbi, after she sent the data from the War Machine armor compiled during the teams' battle with the red Hulk to SHIELD, went down to sub-basement two to contact Steve and fill him in on what they found. They debated whether or not to tell him there was a very strong possibility that it was actually Gen. Ross. Despite Jocasta being 75% positive it was, Clint still had his doubts.

"I just—it just doesn't wash with what we all know about Ross," he said as they made their way down to the sub-basement via elevator. "The guy hates the Hulk with a passion; so much so that he's devoted the rest of his life to destroying him no matter what. And now I'm supposed to believe that he turned himself into the very thing he wants to destroy?"

"Who said he did it on purpose?" she countered. "It could have been an accident."

That was true. Ross, as they all knew, had a very large supply of Bruce's blood confiscated after the doctor's collusion with Dr. Samuel Stern to find a cure. Ross had been using the blood to find a way to kill the Hulk for good – or so he said. They actually believed that he was creating his own army of gamma based monsters. "You think he mishandled some of the blood he's got and got turned?"

She shrugged. "Who knows? We won't know for sure until we can question him."

" _If_ we can get to him." A few months ago, there was a round of elections held after Congress and the Oval Office had been purged of Hydra's influence. Pres. Tonya Simpson remained at her post, but she had to replace six cabinet members. Gen. Ross was appointed as Secretary of Defense, since he was one of the few remaining five-star generals.

As Defense Secretary, he was protected. Getting to him to question him about his involvement with the red Hulk was going to be practically impossible without making some very powerful enemies.

Bobbi nodded slowly and stepped off the elevator when it came to a stop. "Jo, get Cap on the line, please."

" _As you wish, Mockingbird,"_ she replied before trailing off into silence.

Bobbi sat at the large conference table, while Clint stood beside her. The conference table was white with WCA scrawled across it in large gold, stylized letters. Each member had their own chair with their hero logo on it.

Steve's face appeared on the wall-sized computer screen. He looked tired and ragged, likely due to them just returning from a mission. _=Clint, Bobbi. Good to see you both,=_ he said with a nod of his head.

"Cap. We got some news on that new Hulk," Bobbi said. She cut straight to the point, since it was late over in New York. "I did an enhanced facial recognition on an image that Rhodey managed to record during our recent encounter with it. Jo says it's a 75% match to Gen. Ross."

Steve grimaced, but otherwise remained silent.

"I've sent the data, along with a voice recording for vocal recognition, over to SHIELD," she continued. "Coulson said it'll be about a day until all the tests he wants run on it will be finished, so we'll know for sure by tomorrow at the latest."

He nodded. _=Any idea what its endgame is?=_

"No, but we're sure that it has something to do with Bruce," Clint answered. "Jo said that he or some associates of his stole an energy transistor, flux capacitor and a gamma regulator."

 _=Sounds like some cliché sci-fi stuff.=_ He paused to think for a moment before speaking again. _=Hang tight on going after Ross. If he is involved, then he knows that he's protected by being in the President's cabinet. And he must have deep connections with deeper pockets to keep all this running around and smashing as a big, red gamma monster from being traced back to him. Even if he is responsible somehow, it'll be hard to pin it on him before he buries it under a mountain of bureaucratic nonsense.=_

"We were thinking the same," Clint responded with a nod of his head. "So, what should we do? We just can't let him have free reign to do whatever he wants."

 _=Outside of giving Bruce and Betty a safe haven until we find some way to stop Ross and his monster, nothing. The guy's practically untouchable and this is one of those times where punching out the bad guy will only make it worse.=_

Clint sighed, but knew that he was right. He didn't like it, though. "Alright, I hear you. Hanging back. We'll keep an eye on the situation and keep you posted."

He nodded sharply before ending the call.

When the screen went black, Bobbi let out a ragged breath. "Can't believe we have to sit on our hands. What the hell was she thinking giving that asshole a high-level position?"

It was practically a get-out-of-jail-free card that he could abuse whenever and however he felt like. As long as the media never got wind of his connection to the red Hulk, he was untouchable. And it didn't matter what SHIELD found out; Hydra's antics last year had long shot their credibility with the public. Not to mention that many saw Ross as a hero due to his constant vigilance against the Hulk. "Jo, keep an eye out for future Red Hulk attacks on the west coast."

" _Will do, Hawkeye."_

That was all they could do – keep an eye and ear out for more attacks and hope Spectrum could delay him long enough for the rest of the team to take him down. Other than that, there was nothing they could do besides play the long game and wait for him to slip up. He only hoped that there wasn't anyone around when he did.

They headed back up to the ground floor in silence. When they exited the elevator, they saw that Tony was gone. "Tony left already?" Clint asked.

"Yeah," Rhodey answered. "What did Cap say?"

"He said to leave it for now." He understood why he made that call, but he didn't like it, and it showed. "Ross is too protected for us to make a play on him right now. We do, and the U.S. government will be up our ass in no time."

He nodded in agreement. "It's a good call. Even if SHIELD comes to the same conclusion Jo did, all he has to do is allude that there may still be some Hydra element within them to instantly discredit them."

"And as for us," Sam added, "we have an immediate bias as Bruce's friends. We know Ross hates his guts, so he can claim that we're out to ruin him."

"We don't have a leg to stand on," Monica concluded.

"Damn him," Jen hissed. She stomped her foot out of frustration, which shook the entire compound. "Snakes like him don't deserve to be walking around free! He should be in jail for all the shit he's pulled!"

"Yeah. But, the thing about politicians is that they _all_ should be in jail for something or another," Rhodey pointed out. "But, they aren't because they're savvy and influential enough – not to mention rich enough – to have it all swept under the rug. Even if we had video of Ross turning into the red Hulk in the middle of broad daylight, it wouldn't be too much trouble for that to disappear permanently."

"So, now what do we do?" Jen asked.

"I have Jo on the lookout for more red Hulk attacks. In the meantime, we do our jobs. We're still Avengers, so let's go avenge something." No sooner had Clint spoken, the mission alert went off. "What's up, Jo?"

" _There is an attack in progress on a cargo ship off currently docked at Pearl Harbor."_

The team scrambled for the hangar as soon as they heard the words Pearl Harbor. Any attack on American soil was going to create an uproar, but especially an attack on a place that had already been subject to an attack. Monica left ahead of the quinjet, a single streak of white light that was across the horizon before any of them could blink.

Clint frowned heavily as he started up the jet and took off for Honolulu. "What's local PD saying, Jo? Any idea who the attackers are?"

" _They are unidentified attackers, but they believe that they are mutants."_

"Mutants? Why the hell are _they_ causing trouble?"

"It has to be Magneto," Rhodey said. "Only he would be so brazen to attack there."

"Any sign of bucket-head?"

" _There are no reports of Magneto or any of the other known members of the Brotherhood being in the area."_

That was a relief. Outside of Spectrum, Magneto was far out of their weight class. Not even taking into account what he could do to Sam's wings and the War Machine armor.

* * *

The quinjet was more than fast enough to make quick work of the 2,558-mile distance between Los Angeles and Honolulu. Spectrum was already there and had been keeping in constant contact with them. It seemed that Jocasta was right when she said that the mutants were nondescript. It appeared that the mutants that had been attacking the ship were just average, everyday people.

It was strange. Usually, average people just didn't start attacking military bases; especially not military bases that were in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

When she arrived, the mutants stopped attacking the ship – they didn't appear to be making much headway if they intended on sinking it, anyway – and started attacking her. It was child's play to avoid their attacks and render them unconscious.

By the time the rest of the team showed up, she had already cleaned up shop and had the attackers rounded up in the middle of the top deck. They were young; the oldest looked to be in his mid-twenties. "Alright, what gives? Why would these kids attack a cargo ship?" Clint pondered.

"Brainwashing?" Bobbi suggested. That seemed to be the default reason why people acted out of character, and it hadn't come up since Ultron stole the mind gem. She supposed they were due.

"Maybe." Clint and Sam started to help the crew members to their feet. He couldn't help but notice that they didn't look very surprised that they were attacked. "Any idea why you guys were attacked?"

"No," the captain said hurriedly. He glanced at the stairs leading to the lower deck, then turned back to Clint. "They just showed up and started attacking the ship. I think they're a part of that Magneto guy's team. You know those guys have always hated us normal folk."

" _I'm detecting over two dozen life signs down below,"_ Jocasta reported. _"Many of them are barely alive, while several are unconscious."_

"Sounds like you got a lot of people injured down below," he said to the captain. He cocked his head toward Sam, Jen and Bobbi. As the three headed down to the lower deck, he continued to question the captain. "Did they say anything before the attack? Usually, Magneto's crew has some long monologue detailing why their beating the crap out of you."

"No. They just showed up and started attacking. Like I said. It was likely a hate crime. They just plain don't like us." He turned his head to watch the three start down the stairs leading to the lower deck. "Wait, they can't go down there."

Clint raised his eyebrow. "You have injured people down below. My people can help get them help."

"But—"

 _=Clint, all the crew members listed on the ships dossier are all present and accounted for,=_ Rhodey said through the comms.

He frowned heavily. The captain was being dodgy, and the crewmembers were all on the top deck with them. There were over two dozen injured or unconscious people down below. Mutants attacked the ship. "My people aren't going to find any mutants down there, right?"

The captain hesitated. After a moment, he slapped on a fake smile and said, "Of course no—"

 _=Clint, you need to see this,=_ Bobbi said. Her voice sounded grave.

Clint's eyes narrowed. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He left Rhodey and Monica and headed for the lower deck himself. As he passed by, he noticed that there were blast marks along the walls. He also noticed that there weren't any identifying marks to be found; no logos, company names or any of that. "I have a feeling this is a smuggling ship."

Why a black market smuggler would be docking on U.S. soil was a mystery. If anything – unless it absolutely couldn't be helped – they should have done all they could to avoid the U.S. "Rhodey, find out where this ship was headed before it had to dock."

He rounded the corner, only to be met by a dead-end and another set of stairs leading further down into the ship. With a single cursory glance behind him, he hurried down the staircase. "Bobbi?"

"In here!" she shouted from behind the cracked door that was at the end of the short hall.

Clint stepped through and stopped dead in his tracks. He saw 27 people in cages filled with hay and the basic necessities of life. Many of them were radically different skin tones than normal humans. Some had extra eyes or limbs. They were mutants, all of them. "Son of a bitch."

"A lot of these guys are barely hanging on. Looks like they're malnourished," Sam reported.

"I called in SHIELD before you got here. They're sending a jet and a bus to take them to a facility for help," Bobbi said.

"Help us!" a woman said from inside the cage. "They're taking us to a sentinel factory! Please free us!"

Sentinels? Clint was sure that the sentinel program had been out of commission since The Mandarin abandoned it a few years ago. "Okay, we're going to get you guys out of here. Anyone have any kind of healing abilities?"

"I do," a teenage boy said sheepishly.

He smiled warmly and approached his cage. "Then you get to be lucky number one." He pulled a knife from his boot and jimmied the lock open. The boy ran out, but stumbled. He caught him before he hit the ground. "You okay?"

He nodded shakily.

"Okay. Most injured first so he doesn't tire herself out. Everyone else will have to wait until help arrives." He, Jen and Sam either jimmied the cages open or just ripped the doors off the hinges.

One by one, the mutants were freed from their bondage; the most heavily injured of them were healed by the boy. A bright gold light emanated from his hands and filtered into them, wrapping around their wounds and closely them as quickly as the size would allow. Those that only had minor injuries stood by the door, waiting for their fellow mutants to be healed so they could be escorted to the top deck.

"Be careful, Josh," a Native American woman who was among those waiting said, concern in her voice.

"I'm fine, Dani," he replied, though there was a little strain in his voice.

"Dani? Dani Moonstar?"

She nodded.

"You're with the X-Men, right? How'd you end up here?"

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Josh and I were on a field trip with a few more students in China when we were attacked by a group of MRDs. They detained us, nullified our powers except for Josh's and stuck us on a ship for a sentinel factory in Alaska." Her head shook shakily. "There was no way for me to communicate with the Professor and tell him we were in trouble, not while they had those anti-mutant fields up."

The way these people were treated never ceased to sicken Clint. They were regarded as second or third-class citizens at best – animals at worse – and there wasn't a single person with enough influence who wanted to change it. It was enough to see why Magneto wanted to wipe out the human race and almost enough to empathize with him.

Almost.

"Is everyone here a student of yours?"

She shook her head. "No, only fifteen. The rest were in the villages we were passing by when we were attacked."

He nodded. "Well, you guys are safe now. SHIELD is on its way to take you guys to a safe place until your team can come pick you up."

"SHIELD?" She sounded nervous. "They're still around?"

"Yeah. Trust me, they're on the up and up. The Director is a personal friend of mine; you can trust him, I promise."

She narrowed her eyes, then glanced at another woman, who nodded once after a moment. "Okay. Thank you."

The last mutant was healed. Josh breathed out heavily and wiped his brow. "That's everyone." He stood and slowly made his way over to the others.

"You did good."

"Thanks, Dani."

With everyone able to stand on their own, Clint led the way back up the stairs, across the lower deck, then up the stairs to the top deck. When they emerged from inside, they found Agent May and Daisy Johnson standing beside Rhodey and Monica. The captain and his crew were being escorted onto a quinjet in handcuffs.

"May."

"Barton. Everyone accounted for?"

"Yeah. One of theirs healed them before we came up here. Did he confess?"

"No, I haven't had the chance to talk to him. We think he's with the MRD, but we'll see. You guys want to investigate the factory? We're split between Hydra and something else and our ranks are already thin."

"Sure, we'll tackle that for you guys." At the mention of Hydra, he frowned. "Hear from Barnes and Jess recently?"

Daisy answered this time. "A few months ago, they checked in from Romania. Haven't heard from them since." Anything else she was about to say was cut off by the hum of a large aircraft lowering down onto the deck. "Looks like our ride is here. Thanks for wrapping this up, Clint."

"No prob, Daisy. I know you guys are still struggling to rebuild, plus reeling from… you know, Ward."

May snorted ingloriously and walked away.

He watched her leave with a pensive frown. "She's still struggling with him being Hydra?"

"More like him giving her an abortion," she whispered softly. "She was pregnant with—"

"Johnson!"

"Gotta go. I'll see you." Daisy sprinted after May and board the aircraft amongst the mutants.

Clint was left, stunned. He knew that May and Ward were an item on the sly, but he didn't know that she has having his kid. He didn't even know that was possible at her age. Of course, he didn't actually know how old she was, but still. "Wow."

"Yeah," Bobbi said from behind him. "Ward better hope Jess and Bucky find him before May does."

"Yeah, no kidding." He allowed himself a soft laugh before growing serious again. "There's a sentinel factory in Alaska that we need to check out. Let's head back to base and get started."


	4. Killing Grounds

_**Killing Grounds**_

 **Avengers Compound**

 **11:35 AM – The Next Day**

"Shouldn't we be leaving this to the X-Men?" Sam asked reasonably before the team could start discussing a plan of action for the sentinel factory in Alaska. "This _is_ kind of their thing, after all."

"True," Bobbi agreed. "But they may be building those advanced sentinels. They don't know about those, right?"

"Nah. We kind of kept those to ourselves, for some reason," Jen said.

"Just seems weird to me," he argued.

"The reason SHIELD wants us and not the X-Men to check it out is because we're not mutants. Any finished sentinel will be on the lookout for mutants, not regular humans. Sending in the X-Men, especially with some of the powers they have at their disposal, is just asking for trouble," Bobbi explained.

"She's right. Letting the X-Men walk into a trap while we know it's a trap is irresponsible," Clint agreed.

Sam nodded agreeably and let it drop.

"Okay. Jocasta has been searching for everything she can find on this new factory. Jo?"

" _The sentinel program was reinstituted by President Simpson in October of 2015 to act as a preemptive defense against the growing threat of Magneto and his Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. Any files in regard to what projects they are currently working on, or which model of sentinels – the classic or the enhanced models created by the Mandarin – they are building are classified above top secret, so I was unable to procure them without alerting their security. However, I was able to find reports of mutant teenagers suddenly going missing in Alaska, starting in November."_

"That isn't a coincidence," Rhodey intoned. "If they're kidnapping mutant kids to test their sentinels on, that's more than enough for us to go in and shut them down."

Clint nodded in agreement. He didn't like not knowing what they were working on and what the team was going to be getting themselves into when they went to shut the place down. "Work on getting those files. We'll need them to give to Simpson to show her why we took the place down." He stood from the conference table and went over to the holographic image of the factory site was in the middle of the meeting room. "Looks like there are multiple hidden turrets around the perimeter, likely equipped with motion sensors. Also, there is a security detail comprised of sentinels and MRD operatives. We won't have to worry about the sentinels if we can take out the operatives quickly enough. There was some kind of shielding around the building, so we weren't able to get a look inside it, but I'm sure there are some kind of security measures inside also.

"Rhodey, I want you to take out those turrets as soon as we get to the factory. Jen, you and Sam handle the human security; Monica, if the sentinels show up, you handle them. Bobbi and I will make our way inside and start shutting the assemble machines down. Once inside, Monica, Jen and Rhodey, I want you three to destroy all the sentinels that have been completed. Do it fast. Everyone else, look for those mutant kids and get them out. Everyone understand?" Heads nodded in understanding. "Alright, let's move out."

As they headed for the Quinjet, Rhodey walked step for step with Clint. "There's something I don't understand about that cargo ship attack yesterday. We agree that someone, likely Magneto, sent those kids there, right?"

"Right. Xavier would have just sent the X-Men and would have gotten done a lot faster. That, plus Moonstar said that she couldn't get in contact with him, so there was no way he would have known she was there."

"Right. Then, why send such weak mutants? I read the SHIELD reports that were filed early this morning. There wasn't a single one above Class 2. The few that were Class 2 were just barely more powerful than the others. Also, if Moonstar couldn't contact Xavier for help, how did Magneto know her and her students were there?"

It was all really strange. Clint hadn't given it any thought, but those were some really good questions that he wanted the answers to. "Good questions. We won't know the answer to those unless we can get to Genosha."

"Good luck with that," Bobbi said as they walked into the hangar. "That place will shoot us out of the sky the second they see us coming."

While she was exaggerating, he knew what she meant. And she was right. Normal humans were allowed on Genosha only under very strict circumstances. Only a handful of times had normal humans been allowed on Magneto's island as visitors. It just didn't happen often enough for him to think that he would make an exception for the Avengers. "Maybe not us, but I know two people who he would welcome with open arms."

"Think they'd be up for it?" she asked.

"If we explain the situation and Rhodey's concerns, I think they'll be interested enough in finding out to swallow their disgust just this once." He'd owe them a favor later, though.

* * *

 **Anchorage, Alaska – 2:15 PM**

The quinjet hovered ten miles above the sentinel factory in Anchorage, Alaska. Just as he feared, there were dozens of sentinels patrolling the area. But they weren't the advanced sentinels capable of mimicking Gifted abilities, but the classic pink and purple sentinels. However, they were far sleeker than they used to be in the past.

It looked like it was business as usual at the factory. Workers strolled in and out of the front and side entrances for whatever reasons, while security guards dutifully patrolled their sectors, remaining vigilant in case of a disturbance. Two guards stopped and watched as a large, unmarked moving truck pulled up to the right side of the building from an access road leading to town.

The truck stopped and two men, middle aged from the looks of it, in plain brown uniforms and white winter wear hopped out and headed for the back. One opened the back door, while another grabbed an assault rifle and trained it on the inside of the trailer. One by one, people exited the trailer, cuffs on their hands and collars around their necks.

They were mutants, the latest shipment from western Canada. From the looks of it, they ranged from early teens to late forties.

Hawkeye could feel his blood beginning to boil. They were being led into the factory like slaves! More than likely to be used as target practice for their newly assembled sentinels. "Let's get down there and kick some ass." He and Mockingbird jumped on his sky-cycle – a flying motorcycle he 'liberated' from the military after they found where the confiscated SHIELD tech was – after he opened the hatch.

Spectrum was the first one down and immediately started to accost the sentinels that were patrolling around the factory. War Machine was next; Jocasta showed him where the hidden turrets were, which he quickly disposed of with the miniature missiles his armor was stocked with.

"The Avengers?!" one of the guards exclaimed in pure shock. She-Hulk slammed into the ground and started knocking men and women away with ease. Their shock batons and high powered assault rifles only managed to make her angry. "Someone call Mr. Tras—agh!"

Falcon swooped down, knocking two people over before riddling two more with rubber bullets. He quickly and nimbly avoided their retaliation, taking them out with well-placed shots. More guards poured out of the building, prompting him to toss out a handful of gas pellets to render them unconscious.

Sentinels fell from the sky like insects during a crop dusting. They couldn't even register Spectrum's movements, much less lay a single finger on her. Their titanium alloy chassis stood no chance at deflecting her pinpoint blasts. What started out as a fleet of over three dozen had been whittled down to ten in a matter of minutes.

On the ground below, War Machine circled around the building to make sure he destroyed all the turrets. He had, so he joined She-Hulk in mopping up the ground forces to make the way easier for Hawkeye and Mockingbird.

"They're getting inside! Someone stop them!"

There was nothing anyone could do. With She-Hulk taking point to absorb the brunt of the punishment, the team forced their way inside, completely overwhelming the factory security.

"Activate the sentinels!"

"They haven't been given their alternative protocols yet! They only recognize and attack mutants!"

"Damn it! Call Trask and tell him that the West Coast Avengers are inside and trying to shut everything down!"

One guard left to do that while the remaining twenty stood as a barrier between the team and the factory assembly floor. They gathered together in front of the fork in the hallway that led to either the office section on the left or the assembly area on the right.

Falcon started by tossing a few more gas pellets at them, knocking a few out before the gas dissipated into the air. He and War Machine then bombarded them with rubber bullets, knocking some out who were hit in the head area, but distracted the others long enough for Hawkeye and Mockingbird to get in close.

Mockingbird flipped and weaved gracefully through their ranks, tagging them with her stun batons until they were unconscious. Hawkeye backed her up by loosing several Taser arrows that rendered those trying to jump her from behind out cold.

"That's all of them, right?" She-Hulk asked.

"Not all of them." Mockingbird waited a moment, then stuck a baton out around the corner. The guard who left a few minutes ago practically impaled himself on it and shocked himself. But, he was still conscious, so she grabbed him by the shirt and smacked her across the face. "Where's Trask? And where are the mutants who were just delivered?"

"Up your ass and around the corner, bitch," he snarled.

"Cute." She knocked him out with a back fist. "He went that way when he was told to find Trask," she said, pointing to the left path. "I'm going to go find him."

"Falcon, go with her. There's no tell what kind of backup he has now that he knows we're here," he said. His tone brooked no argument, so she nodded and left with Falcon down the left path. Everyone else, including Spectrum, hurried down the right path.

Security was light after the initial siege, so they had a very easy time getting to the machines. It didn't take much effort to scare the factory workers away from their posts and have them line up against the wall. Jocasta shut the machines down, allowing She-Hulk and War Machine to utterly destroy everything. There wasn't a single assembly machine or conveyor belt still in one piece when they were done.

"Anyone else getting déjà vu?" Spectrum asked with a smirk.

"It's about as easy as it was the last time," War Machine hazarded to agree.

"Don't you know you aren't supposed to say that?" Hawkeye looked around and saw another opening on the other side of the area. It led to the storage area that held the completed sentinels as they waited for their protocols to be uploaded. These giant robots were basically glorified paper weights until those directives were inserted into their memory. There were twelve containment sections in total, with each one capable of holding two sentinels.

" _I am now fully integrated into the system,"_ Jocasta announced. _"The containment doors will not open unless I allow them to. I am now searching for a safe way to dispose of these completed sentinels."_

"I can do it a lot faster," Spectrum said.

" _Yes. But I would hate for you to have to waste your energy like that."_

Rather than argue the point, they moved on, confident that the AI would make good on her intentions. There was a large, sentinel sized door at the end of the storage area.

"How's it coming, Mockingbird?" Hawkeye inquired.

It was a moment before she responded. _=Fine. We just missed Trask; I think he skipped out while we were beating up his goon squad. He didn't have time to delete his hard drive, though. You've got to see what this sick fuck was planning to do to these people.=_

"Download everything you can and bring it with you so we can go over it back at the Compound. If he isn't there, then don't waste any more time over there."

 _=Falcon wants to ask around to see if anyone knows where he might have gone, then we'll be with you guys.=_

"Roger that."

She-Hulk pushed the door off its hinges, letting it fall to the floor with a tremendous crash. The next area was a massive training ground, almost like a gladiatorial arena. There was a massive pit – one hundred feet across and at least two hundred feet down – in the middle of the area. Along the walls and all the way up to the ceiling were prison cells. Nearly all of those cells, at least to the naked eye, were occupied.

"It's the Avengers!" someone in one of the cells shouted. Suddenly, a torrent of cries for help bombarded them. Hundreds of mutants of all ages, races, genders, and nationalities cried out for them to free them.

"Christ."

It was a slaughter room. Mutants, maybe three or so at a time, were dumped inside the pit to test the strength and power of the newly created sentinels. If they failed to defended themselves, the sentinel killed them. If they succeeded, the guards killed them. It was a zero sum game no matter what happened.

"Jo, open these cells." Hawkeye's voice was shaking with equal parts anger and disgust. These people were horded up like animals, locked up like slaves, and thrown away like garbage. It wasn't humane in any possible sense of the word. And for what? So some narrow-minded idiots could sleep better knowing that the giant killer robots were keeping the bad mutants away?

He wanted to vomit.

The clanking of hundreds of cell doors opening at once thundered and echoed through the arena. But, it was nothing compared to the sound of hundreds of scared people stampeding out of those cells and toward the only exit. The exit they just so happened to be standing in front of. "Get out of the way!"

They sprinted ahead of the pack into the storage area, out of the way of the stampede charging through the doorway all at once.

 _=I've just been kicked out of the system=_ Jocasta said suddenly, sounding more surprised than anything else.

"What? How?"

Before any answer could come from the AI, the containment doors opened, allowing the sentinels inside to walk into the area. _**"Directives received. Cease all mutant activities. You have five seconds to comply."**_

"You're all with them, aren't you?!" one of the mutants demanded angrily. Furious murmurs combined with fearful whimpers rippled through the crowd. They backed away from the sentinels, but the only escape was to the pit, and that was certain death.

Spectrum exploded into her light form and was about to engage the sentinels when they suddenly all seized up. A metallic groan proceeded them being ripped apart limb from limb at the same part.

"Whoa, I didn't know you could do that," Hawkeye said to her.

"I didn't do that."

"Guys, we have to get out of here," War Machine said urgently. "I can't move."

The walls were ripped open, showering the occupants inside with dust and small bits of debris. Magneto floated inside, followed closely by his Brotherhood – Sabretooth, Mystique, Pyro, Blob and Avalanche. "You won't be going anywhere," Magneto said menacingly. "You would lead these poor prisoners into a trap; earning their trust, only to give them over to the slaughter?!"

"Wha—wait a minute. We didn't lead anyone anywhere. We were trying to save them," Hawkeye retorted.

"Yeah, we let them out of those cells. We didn't know the sentinels had been activated," She-Hulk added, backing him up. In fact, they were positive that they hadn't been.

"Right," he drawled, unconvinced. Sabretooth sniffed the air twice before suddenly sprinting out of the storage area, toward the assembly floor.

"We saved them," Hawkeye reiterated. "These guys, and the ones on the ship yesterday."

"You want a cookie, mate?" Pyro sneered.

"Wait, aren't you supposed to be dead?"

"Aren't you?" he fired back.

"... fair enough."

Deciding that he had enough of listening to Hawkeye, Magneto turned his attention to the mutants. "I did not come here to fight with humans. I came here to free you all and offer you sanctuary and a home on Genosha. There, no more will you have to worry about sentinels and homo sapiens doing you harm. You will be safe there." He gestured outside, where there was another mutant standing in front of a spiraling portal.

Some ran outside and through the portal without hesitation. Others were a tad more trepid, but eventually, they also went through the portal. Slowly, but surely, the mutants went through the portal leading directly to Genosha, until the only ones remaining were the Brotherhood and the Avengers.

Hawkeye narrowed his eyes at Magneto, hand clenched tightly on his bow. "You got what you wanted, now get out of here."

"Magneto, found these two stalking around." Sabretooth walked in, both Mockingbird and Falcon clutched tightly in his grip. Thankfully, Mockingbird wasn't hurt; unfortunately, Falcon was, with four deep slashes across his chest. Blood stained the front of his uniform.

"Sam!" Hawkeye notched an arrow and loosed it in record time. The arrow whizzed through the air, but halted just shy of Sabretooth's left eye. The arrow turned around and zipped right back where it came from. He couldn't even reacted before the arrow was vaporized in a flash of white light.

Sabretooth was blasted away, sending his two prisoners tumbling to the floor. A fraction of a second later, a beam was heading for Magneto. His shield was up, but the beam of light passed right through it and sent him flying outside and crashing into a jeep.

"Erik!" Mystique pulled two semi-automatic pistols from somewhere and opened fire. At the same time, Avalanche flexed his hands at toward the ground, creating a tremendous earthquake that sent the team tumbling to the floor. Pyro also retaliated, launching two pillars of fire at them.

She-Hulk clapped her hands together, creating a shockwave powerful enough to snuff out the fire pillars. War Machine, free of Magneto's control, rocketed into the air and knocked Avalanche back with a pair of repulsor rays.

Hawkeye ducked out of the way before Mystique started shooting, and kept darting to and fro to keep out of her line of fire. He loosed several arrows to keep her and the others off balance until his teammates could get back on their feet.

"ENOUGH!" Magneto roared and spread his arms out wide. With ease, the building was torn to pieces and came crumbling down on top of them.

They only survived due to War Machine activating the armor's shield right before the rubble came raining down. She-Hulk dove on top of Falcon and Mockingbird and used her massive body as a meat shield to protect them. She held fast, despites having tons of cement and metal on her back.

White beams of light blasted through the rubble until there was a clear path to safety through the wreckage. She-Hulk stood and helped Mockingbird to her feet before scooping Falcon up in her arms.

The Brotherhood was long gone.

"Son of a bitch!" Clint walked up to Sam to see how he was doing? "Sam, how bad does it hurt?"

"It feels like my whole ribcage just got split in half, but other than that, not too bad." He tried to laugh it off, but winced from the pain.

"He almost got himself killed trying to protect me," Bobbi said, voice on edge, but out of concern and a little guilt rather than anger.

"Hey, Creed looked like he wanted to carve you up. At least with me, my barrel chest was barely scratched. Doesn't even hurt." She poked one of his scratches. "Ow!"

"I'll call in SHIELD. Jo, bring the jet down so Bobbi can patch Sam up as best she can until they get here."

The mission had been a success, despite the rocky way it ended. They had freed the prisoners and shut the factory down. And, thanks to Bobbi, they had plenty of evidence to show Pres. Simpson why they attacked the factory and tried to shut it down. Once she saw that – if it was indeed as bad as Bobbi said it was – Bolivar Trask and the sentinel program were finished.

But that was the only good thing about this mission. Magneto showing up and taking all the prisoners to Genosha worried him. Yes, he knew that he planned to make good on his promise to keep them safe from harm. That was good. But, he also knew that Magneto planned on doing something big.

Something that wasn't in humanity's best interest. And whatever it was, it was about to happen soon.

Clint knew that the West Coast Avengers were going to be ready. He just hoped that everyone else was, also.


	5. Meeting of the Minds

_**Meeting of the Minds**_

 **Avengers Compound – Sub-Basement 2**

 **4:24 PM**

It took them some time to go over the files Bobbi downloaded at the sentinel factory. They found a very comprehensive and detailed plan to reinitialize the bio-sentinel program. To make sure they had enough biological components, they used the bodies that were left over from the sentinel testing in the pit.

In this manner, they killed three birds with one stone. They tested the effectiveness of the newer sentinel models; they killed dozens of mutants every time; and they had plenty of body parts for their bio-sentinels.

They had a contractual agreement with the Mutant Response Division to supply them with a steady stream of mutants from across the United States and Canada. This was made possible by the MRD receiving a nice funding boost from the U.S. and Canadian governments. The MRD would detain dozens of "dangerous" mutants and ship them off secretly to the factory. Any mutant they caught wind of, whether he or she was a danger to anyone or not, was snagged and shipped.

It was human trafficking. That was the first conclusion Jen drew when she read over the papers. The second was that when this got out – and things like this always got out, whether by going directly to the press or by Jocasta "accidently" letting some of the files leak onto the internet – there was going to be an uproar not seen since the registration act. There was going to be hell to pay and people demanding answers from everyone.

And Trask was going to be in everyone's crosshairs.

The WCA had in their possession the means to bring real change to the world. The only key was making sure no one lost their head and did something stupid.

"First things first; we get this to the President," Clint said.

Rhodey nodded in agreement. "She's really the only person that needs to know. But on the off chance that she just sits on it and does nothing, we should be prepared to leak this to the press."

Everyone knew that Simpson gave the okay to reinitialize the sentinel program. If it got out that Trask was up to all of this inhumane behavior, it would ruin her also. Especially if she sat on it for any length of time, as opposed to jumping into action immediately.

"Simpson is a good president. I don't think we should ruin her," he replied. "But, I think she will do something. She genuinely seems like a good person. And from the sounds of it, she sounded like she only wanted the sentinels for Magneto and his gang, not everyone else."

"Of course, Trask took it several steps too far," Bobbi added.

"Right."

"Y'all have to remember," Monica interjected, "she's a politician. It's in her best interest to look good. We don't have anything to worry about."

That was true.

" _An urgent transmission from Director Coulson is coming through,"_ Jocasta announced.

"Patch it through."

A second later, Coulson's face appeared on the screen. _=Barton, Avengers,=_ he greeted with a single nod.

"Coulson. What's up?"

 _=We just finished sifting through the wreckage of the factory. Did you know that there was a sub-basement?=_ From his tone, he already knew that they didn't. _=We did a thorough search and found over eighty decommissioned bio-sentinels. They upgraded from carbon fiber; these were made with steel.=_

"With the big, fat check the government cut Trask, I guess he felt like splurging a little," Clint said with a shake of his head. "We already read about the bio-sentinels and how they planned on using mutants to build them. Guess they got started early."

Coulson nodded in agreement, but then hesitated briefly. "Simmons ran a test for the X-Gene on twenty of them. Half were mutants."

Which meant that the other half, and at least 10% of them were mutants. "Some were humans?"

He nodded, expression grave.

It was one thing for a lunatic like the Mandarin to meld human cadavers into killing machines; it was another for the man claiming to be the one thing protecting humans from mutants to. "Trask used human body parts as part of his bio-sentinels?"

Again, Coulson nodded silently.

"That son of a bitch."

"Guys, the U.S. is the least of his worries now," Jen noted. "Now, he has to worry about the U.N. This is a blatant crime against humanity right here. If this gets out—"

"Trask gets the death penalty and everyone who was involved in this – from Simpson down to the janitor – is on the hook as a possible accomplice or enabler," Rhodey finished.

 _=That's what I'm hoping for. I'll call the President as soon as we're finished and go over everything. I have a feeling she will be very cooperative with us,=_ Coulson said after being silent for several minutes.

"I was going to call her myself and tell her about everything we found," Clint said.

 _=If that's the case, then tell her about this, too, while you're at it. I'll get in touch with her after she's done panicking.=_ He looked up, as if paying attention to someone who was off-camera. _=He's on now?=_ He grimaced after a moment, then nodded.

"What's up now?"

 _=Magneto is making an address. He's on now. We'll be in touch.=_ As soon as he hung up, Jocasta switched over to a local news station, where Magneto was broadcasting live from Genosha.

They already knew what he was talking about.

" _Attention, homo sapiens. I am Magneto. Today, I and the Brotherhood of Mutants destroyed a sentinel factory that had been kidnapping mutants and killing them and using their deceased bodies as part of their new bio-sentinel program. I know how you humans pat yourselves on the back for you so-called humane behavior. I have known for years – and I hope that my fellow mutants who may have still held naïve hopes for humankind – that this so-called 'humanity' is nothing more than barbaric savagery that no more separates you from mindless animals than it does hide your bigotry._

" _I and my Brotherhood saved these mutants after they had been led into a trap by the West Coast Avengers. They, along with their east coast brethren, showed their true colors today. They have shown that they care as little for my kind as you do. If these are the people – full of racist, bigoted views and prejudice priorities that remain hidden by their celebrity propaganda – if these are the people you choose as your heroes, you leave me no choice but to call for an exodus._

" _Fellow mutants, hear me. The human world is no longer safe for our kind. They want nothing but to push our race to extinction. I offer you, every one of you who has ever been mistreated, abused, neglected or ostracized by a human, sanctuary here on Genosha. Here, you will find a safety. Here, you will find peace. Here, you will find a home. Here, you will be treated as you deserve to be, as the next phase of human evolution._

" _We are the future. We are homo superior, the true dominant race of the planet Earth. All those who disagree will be dealt with swiftly and without mercy. Those who oppose nature's will, there will be a reckoning."_

Magneto was a polarizing figure in the mutant community. A lot of people who had been mistreated by narrow-minded bigots agreed with what he said. His word was the truth as far as a lot of people were concerned. So, if he said that the WCA led hundreds of frantic mutants into a nearly fatal trap, they were going to believe him.

Right now, there were tens of thousands of mutants who had just lost faith in them, just like that.

"Son of a bitch!"

" _Incoming transmission from Captain America."_

It was a moment before his face appeared on the screen. To say he looked angry was an understatement. _=Magneto is making his move. Wanda thinks this is the beginning of the race war he's been trying to instigate for years.=_

Clint nodded in agreement. Magneto had been trying to unite mutantkind against humankind for over fifty years. To no avail, as the efforts of Charles Xavier and the X-Men always foiled him in the end. This time, however, he wasn't sure if Xavier's rhetoric of peace and understanding was going to quell the anger that the mutant community was likely feeling. "What do we do? Lensherr's practically playing with house money right now."

 _=I'm getting all three teams together at 0900 tomorrow morning to discuss this in detail. I want us all to be on the same page before we make a move. Tonight, I'm going over to the x-mansion to talk to Professor Xavier about what he knows and what he plans on doing. If we can coordinate the Avengers and X-Men, we can nip this in the bud before it becomes a serious problem.=_

The problem was it had already become a serious problem. Trust in the Avengers was going to be at an all-time low in the mutant community. Many were going to be moving to Genosha, where they would be exposed to undiluted doses of Magneto's anti-human propaganda. "I think it's a bit late for that, but it couldn't hurt."

Steve raised an eyebrow, but said nothing on it.

"If this is the beginning of his race war, like Wanda speculates it is," Rhodey said thoughtfully, "then we're going to be fighting a two-front war. Against Magneto and his people to protect innocent humans, and against the MRD and sentinels to protect innocent mutants."

He was right. _=You're right. But, I'd rather let the X-Men handle the mutants. They're better equipped to handle them and won't have to worry about any hostile backlash like we would. We should just concern ourselves with saving the humans.=_ Something about his last statement didn't sit well with him, given his expression.

"But then, we'd be basically proving Magneto right," Rhodey countered tactfully.

 _=You're right. But, at the end of the day, it's your safety I'm most concerned with, not whether or not Magneto is proven right. We know he isn't, and anyone with any sense knows that, too.=_

He nodded and let the issue drop.

"Any reason we aren't meeting up tonight, Cap?" Monica asked.

 _=I have a meeting in Washington to attend, then I'll be at Xavier's institute tonight,=_ he answered. _=As long as nothing else happens between now and tomorrow, we'll be ready for anything.=_

"In the meantime, I'll have Jocasta keep a close eye on Genosha. _If_ he is planning on waging that race war, I doubt he'll start it until most mutants are on his island. We have some time. Not much, I figure, but more than we think," Clint said.

 _=Good point, Clint. And have her keep an eye on areas known for high mutant activity. We don't know how the pro-human bigot groups are going to react to this, but it won't be good.=_

"Will do."

Steve nodded once. _=Then, I'm off. We'll discuss this more tomorrow.=_

Once he signed off, Clint sighed. "We're dismissed until further notice." Without another word, he got up and walked into the elevator. Right before he could press the close doors button, Bobbi slipped inside. "So much for peace, huh?"

She nodded silently and snaked her arm around his. "Yeah, but a year is a lot longer than we had been getting, which was only a few hours, it seemed."

"Yeah, but if it isn't one thing, it's another. If it isn't some homicidal robot, it's a mutant megalomaniac. Or an alien invasion led by a god with an inferiority complex. Or a group of bad guys with nothing better to do than take over the world."

"Or Jess' mom deciding soccer practice wasn't exciting enough for her."

"Doesn't that still just blow your mind?" He was laughing while he said it, but it was a serious realization. Not just one, but three of their friends were born to supervillains. Murderers and terrorists. He couldn't even imagine how Pietro and Wanda were feeling right then.

They never talked about Magneto in a fond sense, or even a friendly one. Every time they recounted their time with him, it was with disdain and animosity. He didn't think they felt a single positive emotion toward him besides gratitude for saving them from a life – and eventual death – on the streets of Sokovia. Now, this.

It was one thing when a parent embarrassed their child by dancing like a fool in front of their friends. All but declaring war on an entire species was another thing entirely. He couldn't imagine how they were feeling.

"It sucks," she said succinctly. "I know they don't consider him their father, but he still is."

It was like she was psychic. "Cute how you read my mind like that."

"Think I can give Frost a run for her money?" she asked with a sly smirk.

He matched hers with one of his own. "If I say yes, will you start running around in a white corset and matching thong?"

She pursed her lips, as if giving it serious thought. "Maybe."

"I will take that as a yes."

"Take however you want, sport." The doors opened and the two stepped out onto the second floor. "Xavier wrote a book a few years ago and one section was all about bucket-head. Think I'll read that and see if there's anything we can use."

"And I'll be talking with Tony about sending me some more degaussed arrows."

* * *

 **Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngers – Salem, New York**

 **7:55 PM**

"Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Professor." Steve Rogers was sitting in the study of the Xavier Institute along with Professor Charles Xavier. With them were X-Men leader and co-leader Scott Summers and Ororo Monroe, and Jean Grey.

"You are very welcome, Captain. It is important that we are all in one accord for when Erik finally acts."

"You think he will for sure?"

Xavier nodded. "I do. Erik has been preparing for this for over fifty years. He has tried to start an uprising every so many years, usually by himself with his brotherhood. Every time, however, the X-Men have been there to stop him. This time, though, I don't think we will be able to."

"Why do you say that?"

"Racial tension is at a level not seen in many decades, Captain. I'm sure you've noticed. People are angry and frightened, and more malleable to charismatic leaders more than ever before. I'm sure that the incident at the sentinel factory was a matter of unfortunate circumstances; but Erik has been given an opportunity to galvanize the mutant community behind him. And once they agree with his line of thinking, it will happen."

The human/mutant war that he had been preaching about for years was on the cusp of breaking out. It was in Steve's best interests to make sure that didn't happen, but he didn't know how he was going to stop it if millions of people were crying out for change that wasn't going to happen otherwise. "Have you spoken to him?"

"I have. He insists that what he is doing is for the good of mutantkind."

Figured. People like him always deluded themselves into thinking they were doing what was best for their people. "No surprise there."

"In a way, he does care," Jean said thoughtfully.

"In his own twisted way, yeah," Scott agreed. "Cap, you need to be prepared to do whatever you have to stop help us stop him. He won't stop until his goal is met."

Steve looked from Jean to Scott. "What is his goal? World domination?"

"He wants us to be free from oppression," Ororo answered. "He's never been truly free since he was a child, and he wants us all to experience that."

There was nothing wrong with that. What he and the other victims of the Holocaust went through was reprehensible. What mutants were going through right then was just as reprehensible. There were talks in senate to prohibit mutant women from having children. It wasn't right. "Some say he wants to commit genocide."

"He doesn't," the Professor said firmly. "He and I see differently on ideology, but he is not the monster some make him out to be."

"His own children disagree," he responded tactfully. "I know we'll have your support when war breaks out, but how do we stop him and how powerful are the people in his… I guess army is the right word?"

"The number of free agent Omega level mutants is pretty small," Scott answered, "but they're out there, and they're probably the most scared out of anyone. Theirs are the powers used as examples to prove how dangerous we are. If he can get even a few of them on his side, he'll be hard to beat."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he wasn't surprised by it. Magneto himself, to his knowledge, was classified as an Alpha level mutant. Surrounding himself with Omegas, which were some of the most powerful and most dangerous Gifteds on the planet, was a smart move. There wasn't anything the human side could do outside of using anti-mutant tech, which he was sure he was preparing for. "How many do you think will join his side, Professor?"

"I'm not sure. What Scott said was correct; Omega level mutants are the most scrutinized and the most afraid. I predict that quite a few will travel to Genosha, if for nothing more than a safe place to call home. However, there may be some who will join his ranks and wage war alongside him."

"Any idea who?"

He shook his head. "I can't say for sure."

Steve supposed that was too much to ask. Regardless of how many he had on his side, Steve knew that he had two on his side. Plus, however many the X-Men had on their teams. "Can we win?"

Xavier didn't answer for a very long time. Neither did anyone else in the room with them. It was a simple, yet difficult question to answer. There was no doubt that they all knew they had to. But, could they? The human side had those advanced sentinels capable of mimicking mutant abilities. Surely, there were enough, and they were strong enough, to overwhelm the mutant side once everything came to a head.

But, did that constitute winning? Was merely defeating the other side in a physical contest winning? What about the matter of equality, which is what this entire war about in the first place? Beating Magneto and his side didn't answer that question. If anything, it could be seen as the majority silencing the minority.

"We can win the battle," he answered after many moments of deliberation.

But, not the war. That was what he was afraid of. "For now, that will have to do." As long as all the innocents that were going to be caught in the middle, on both sides, were safe and sound by the end of it, that was the best he could hope for.


	6. Home is Where the Hate is

_**Home is Where the Hate is**_

 **Avengers Facility – Upstate New York**

 **8:00 AM**

It hadn't been since Tony and Pepper's wedding in August that the three teams had been in the same place at the same time. That was a much happier time, if only because many of them thought that they would never see it. This time, however, the mood was much more somber. And it wasn't just because war was looming.

Earlier that morning, it was reported on CNN that Professor Charles Xavier was attacked inside Cerebro, leaving him in a coma and in critical condition. Kitty Pryde, the team's spokeswoman, was mum when asked just what the attack entailed; but she did say that they suspected that Friends of Humanity, a human supremacy group, was behind the attack. They didn't know any further details at that time.

That was an hour ago. The entire paradigm of the upcoming war shifted dramatically. The Avenger teams woke up that morning knowing that the X-Men were going to be by their side protecting innocent civilians and fighting against Magneto. Now, there was a good chance they were going to be fighting on his side. Steve wouldn't blame them if they did.

"Now what?" Janet asked with a frustrated huff. "Even if Magneto wasn't going to declare war or whatever before, he sure as hell is now."

Heads nodded throughout the facility. "Is there anything anyone can do or say to prevent this from going down?" Scott offered.

"It isn't a matter of _if_ it's going to happen, but _when_ ," Rhodey said. "Wars always start when important figures are killed. Every time. Xavier is one of, if not the, most important figure in the mutant community. There will be war, and it won't be pretty."

"But, it'll just be between them and the MRD and those other bigoted ass-clowns, though, right?" Luke asked as he glanced around the collective group of heroes. "I say we just let them at it and fight it out. If the MRD get killed off, oh well."

"As nice and ideal as that sounds," Natasha intoned, "it won't stop innocent people from getting caught in the middle. Xavier getting put in a coma is going to put more of an emotional charge on this war than was already present. People aren't going to be thinking about anything other than slaughtering the other side."

"She's right," Steve agreed. "As great as it sounds to just sit back and let Magneto kill all those bigoted bastards, he won't stop there. I think he'll want to make an example of someone."

"An eye for an eye," Danny said.

Steve nodded. "Right. Since she okayed the sentinel program revival, I think Simpson is a prime target. I've already spoken to Director Coulson and he has an around-the-clock security detail for her until this is wrapped up."

"For as much good as that will do," Natasha mumbled.

SHIELD agents didn't stand much of a chance of super-powered threats. Still, Steve felt comfortable that Coulson's people would be able to protect the president by whatever means necessary. "It's the best we can do. I don't feel comfortable sending one of you guys to protect her, even if that's the better way to go."

Until he heard from Scott Summers on the X-Men's intentions, there was nothing else they could do. As of yet, Magneto hadn't made any hostile – objectively speaking – moves, so they couldn't just attack Genosha and drag him to prison. Even though they could, since he technically was an escaped prisoner after having been broken out of the Raft by the Brotherhood. "Clint, you said you and Rhodey had some concerns about the ship incident the other day?"

"Yeah. We were wondering how Magneto knew that there were mutants on that ship from the other day. When we got there, one of them said that there was anti-mutant tech onboard that was preventing her from contacting Xavier. So, how did bucket-head know they were there and where to find them?"

It was a compelling question.

"Maybe he didn't," Peter answered. "If the ship was an MRD smuggling ship, then that's reason enough for him to want to sink it. From what you guys said, it didn't sound like those mutants even knew there was anyone else on the ship. Else, why would they be trying to sink the ship without saving their people first?"

"If what you say is true," Sam said after thinking on it for a moment, "it sounds like he's lucky we got there when we did, and that he didn't go there to rip the thing apart himself. Or, he'd have to explain why he let twenty-seven mutants drown."

"Yes. Lucky." Pietro and Wanda had been quiet the entire time the three teams had been assembled together. Also, they had declined comment when asked about Magneto's comments the day before. There wasn't any need to guess. They all knew that they weren't happy that he was close to waging the race war he enlisted them in years ago.

Steve thought about asking them if they knew anything about his plans from when they were members of his Brotherhood, but ultimately decided against it. Besides the very likely possibility that his plans had changed to reflect the current world scene, he doubted they actually knew much of anything. There was no reason to tell the soldiers anything that didn't have anything to do with their assignments. The less they knew, the less they could tell the enemy if captured.

Which was exactly the position they were in, in a way.

Regardless, they needed to find out his timetable so they could be ready. The last thing they could afford was to be blindsided by him launching his first salvo while they were still preparing.

" _May I make a suggestion, Captain?"_ Vision asked.

He nodded once. "Of course, Vision. What do you have in mind?"

" _It is in everyone's best interests if this war is avoided, correct? If so, then why not send a peace offering of sorts. I believe it will be easier to convince President Simpson to discontinue the sentinel program and the Mutant Response Division than to convince Magneto to stay his hand. If we can do that in time, then perhaps he will—"_

"You clearly don't know my father very well," Pietro stated, cutting him off.

" _Well, no, I do not."_

"He will not stay his hand just because the sentinel program is discontinued," Wanda said. "And the MRD is not going anywhere, so this point is moot. There are too many mutants of "ill" repute in the country and the government does not trust the X-Men to be capable of keeping them all in check."

"And even if it did happen and _all_ of the anti-mutant programs were disbanded, he will still attack the humans, if only to teach them a lesson or something else as inane," Pietro added. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall they were standing in front of. "The only way to stop this war from happening is to apprehend him before it starts."

Steve sighed softly. Vision was still naïve about the human – and mutant – race, and his suggestion reflected that. As ideal as it sounded, there was no way it was going to happen, for the reason Pietro and Wanda pointed out. "He did escape from the Raft last year, so we do have a reason to arrest him."

"That will only prove him right," Natasha warned. "There are a lot of people out there who think we don't have their best interests at heart. We arrest him _after_ what he said yesterday, and it will look like we're trying to keep a very vocal minority quiet."

He knew she was right, but they had to do something. "We can't just sit around and wait for him to make his move."

"Maybe his kids can convince him to stand down?" Carol suggested.

"I highly doubt that," Pietro refuted with a scoff.

"It's worth a shot. Maybe he'll listen." After a moment, Steve added, "But only if you two are up for it."

The twins glanced at each other, sharing another one of their countless wordless conversations. The silent debate lasted for all of five seconds, but it seemed that they had shared an hour's worth of point-counterpoint. In the end, Carol's idea won out. "Fine."

Steve nodded once; reserved, as he knew what he was asking of them "Thank you both. If this works—"

"It won't," Pietro cut in.

Steve looked to argue, but Wanda beat him to the punch. "He's right; it won't. No one in this room know Magneto better than we do. He has been waiting for this moment for seventy years, and he will not let it pass him by." She glanced at her brother briefly before continuing. "We are only doing this as a curtesy, so we can say we tried every recourse." With that, she let Pietro lift her into his arms. In the blink of an eye, they were gone without a trace, leaving the others in silence.

"Are we sure that was a good idea?" Janet asked.

Quite the contrary, Steve was sure it was a bad one. But it was the best way to get any kind of information out of Magneto. His only concern was that someone was going to say something to set off a fight. While the twins were formidable, even alone, they were going to be up against countless mutants that were all formidable in their own right. Unfortunately, there weren't any other mutants on any of the teams and sending in one of the human heroes was only going to make matters worse. "It's the best we can do right now, Janet."

* * *

 **Hammer Bay, Genosha**

It had been a little over three years since Pietro and Wanda had stepped foot onto Genosha. When they left for the final time, they swore to each other that they would never return. As much as they intended on keeping that promise, they both knew that one day, they would have to return for one reason or another. That day was today.

Hammer Bay was the largest city on the island, as well as its capital. It was a utopia, and a standing testament to mutant resilience and ingenuity. It was a city born on the bones of the indigenous humans slain by Magneto and his acolytes. It was the home of the largest population of mutants on the planet; a factoid that Magneto was especially proud of. That population had undoubtedly grown substantially in the last twelve hours.

In fact, there was a stream of newly arrived mutants being funneled toward the city from a large ship. They looked to be mostly from neighboring Africa.

Wanda sighed softly. "Let's blend in with this crowd. With any luck, they won't notice us."

Pietro could have just run them all the way to Magneto's palace, but apparently Wanda wanted to take her time. "I would rather not spend any more time here than necessary."

"Neither would I, but I would also rather not cause a scene."

In the end, the eldest twin won out, and the two smoothly blended into the crowded of incoming mutants. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands, trying to squeeze through the city gates at the same time. Wanda grabbed his hand so they wouldn't get separated within the mass of humanity.

Acolytes, dressed in black and gold armor with a red V across their chests, tried to herd them the best way possible. Because they weren't allowed to run into the city at full speed like many of them wanted to, progression was very slow and tedious. "This is taking too long!" Pietro said harshly.

"Patience. We've only been here for five minutes."

"It feels like five hours." He scanned the sky above; it was a beautiful shade of sky blue without a cloud in the sky. It looked peaceful, the opposite of the chaos happening around them. Mutants zipped across the sky through every means possible, bypassing the crowd below them. Wanda could fly; she could levitate the both of them and it still wouldn't have been too far out of the ordina— "Oh."

"Oh, what?" Above them, and heading in the opposite direction as the other flyers, was a green-haired woman dressed in a green bodysuit similar to Wanda's – who was wearing a red armored top, black pants with a red coat – and a green cape flying in their direction. "Maybe she's going elsewhere."

As soon as the words left her lips, the woman quickly descended and landed in front of them. The crowd gave her plenty of berth, as though a fight was about to start. "Quicksilver. Scarlet Witch. Imagine my surprise when Destiny said you'd be showing up." She spoke with a significant amount of disdain as she regarded them, with her expression matching her voice. "What do you two want?"

"Polaris," Wanda replied with matching contempt. "Take us to see Magneto."

"No," she said with no thought. "He has more important things to do."

"More important than seeing his own children?" Pietro said sarcastically.

She folded her arms. "Yes. He has a war to prepare for. And that doesn't include the two of you. Besides, he still has one daughter who remains by his side, and that's more than enough for him."

"Aw, look at her, Wanda. The forgotten third child, finally basking in the light of her father's attention. I wonder how long she has been waiting for this moment, to finally be recognized as his progeny instead of a useless bastard child."

Polaris tried to keep her composure, but Pietro's scathing words were eroding at her patience like a cliff being bombarded by an acidic tide.

Seeing her starting to slip, he couldn't help but keep prodding. "It must be so hard being the mutant messiah's forgotten child. I wonder how long you've been praying for the day that Magneto finally acknowledges you as his daughter to come. At least since the day we left, so around three years? That's a very long—"

"Shut up," she hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about, so just shut up."

"Oh, but you misunderstand. I wish I was you. You don't know how much I hate being known as that blowhard's son. It's awful. I wish he'd forget about me like he has you."

" _Shut. Up_." Her face was starting to flush, and tears were starting to brim under her green eyes.

"Does he know your name? Besides Polaris, I mean. What even _is_ your name, by the way?"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" she roared. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her eyes filled green from her flaring power. "MY FATHER LOVES ME AND HE HATES YOU BECAUSE YOU BETRAYED OUR PEOPLE BY BEING WITH THOSE DIRTY, STUPID HUMANS!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Such a shameful tantrum you're throwing," Wanda declared with a disgusted shake of her head.

Pietro didn't say anything for several moments. He looked thoughtfully at Polaris, considering her enraged state with what could easily have been mistaken for compassion and empathy. After all, he and Wanda had gone half their lives without knowing who their real parents were. They feared for years that they would be forgotten for the rest of their lives. "Linda," he said decisively. "Wait, no, that's not it."

"FUCK YOU!" Polaris controlled metal, though not to the degree of her father. But she was powerful enough to be considered a level four mutant. A green aura enveloped her hands as she stretched them out to attack.

"Polaris," came a calm female voice. It was Mystique, who appeared from the frightened crowd. "Erik wants to see his children." There was the unmistakable hint of amusement in her voice.

Polaris entire body deflated with a pathetic whimper.

The twin's smirks were the very epitome of smugness. "Thank you, Raven. Until next time, _Lorna_." With that, he lifted Wanda into his arms and disappeared from view, leaving only a cloud of dust in his wake.

"I hate them," Lorna screeched, eyes wide with absolute lividity. "I hate them both so much."

"Join the club," Mystique replied calmly.

Pietro stopped just shy of the front entrance to Magneto's palace and set Wanda down. It wasn't so much a palace as it was a stronghold. Crafted of iron ore and steel, it was nearly impenetrable to all that Magneto didn't want inside. Acolytes and other powerful mutants stood guard in strategic places around the fortress. There were undoubtedly other security measures hidden from view and sensors.

A large bronze stature of Magneto and the Brotherhood was place several yards in front of the entrance. Predictably, Wanda and Pietro were absent. "Not too late to go home, you know," he said.

She shook her head. "No, we have a job to do." With that, she stepped through the threshold and into the fortress.

The interior hadn't changed in the four years since they had last stepped foot inside it. It still had the feel of a military base more than anything else. The ground floor, as they both knew, was the most visitor friendly. It had a foyer with a large fountain in the center of the room and a beautiful crystal chandelier above it. There were several statues of angels and other similar images scattered across the foyer and the four adjacent hallways. There was a large recreation room for children and teenagers, as well as a fully stocked library for adults. There was a lounge where people could talk and chat in a peaceful environment. Lastly, there was a large kitchen and dining room where Magneto and his guests could enjoy a meal together.

The second floor held sleeping quarters for Magneto, his acolytes, and the Brotherhood – those that either required sleep or chose not to skulk around in the city in the middle of the night. It also held a large observation deck that was claimed to be able to view any location in the world and even into outer space.

The top two floors were merely a façade to quell public curiosity. The Brotherhood's business was conducted in the sub-basement, which contained the war-room and training facilities. Sub-basement two was where the prisoners were held. It was mostly filled with those who voiced dissenting opinions about Magneto or his affairs.

Polaris said Magneto was preparing for his war, so the twins headed down to sub-basement one. The magnetically powered elevator descended silently down the lengthy shaft leading from the ground floor.

Pietro was nervous. He didn't know what they were walking into. Magneto obviously knew they were there, but they didn't know what kind of temperament he was in after the attack on his oldest friend left him in a coma. For once, with that in mind, he decided to let cooler heads prevail and to keep his comments to a minimum. The last thing he wanted was a fight to break out in an area where they had no source of speedy escape.

He was nervous, but he hid it well. Or, he thought he did, but Wanda seemed to sense it anyway. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze as the elevator car slowed to a stop. The tiny gestured worked wonders. "Okay. Let's get this over with."

The first sub-basement, when they stopped out of the elevator, was the same as it was when they were last there. The walls, ceiling and floor were all constructed of sleek black metal. There were several doors leading to different training or meeting rooms that the Brotherhood used to hone their powers and conduct their team business. At the end of the hall, behind a pair of large double door, was Magneto's war room. It was there that he had been carefully planning his race war for the last fifty years.

"When we go inside," Wanda said just before Pietro could open the doors, "let me do the talking."

He knew why she said that, and couldn't argue, so he just nodded and let her go in front of him.

The doors pushed opened easily and silently, granting them entrance into the war room. There, standing with his back to them in front of a holographic map of Washington DC beside two other mutants they didn't recognize, was Magneto. "Wanda. Pietro," he greeted without turning around. "To what do I owe this expected visit?"

He had been waiting for them, it seemed. "Tell us how you plan on waging your war so we can know how to stop you," Wanda demanded.

The two mutants laughed uproariously, but Magneto remained silent.

"You really think we'll tell either of you anything?" the woman said with a scoff.

"Go back to your human masters, traitors!" the man next to her snarled.

The twins stood by the door stoically. They were long used to hearing this kind of abuse thrown at them by jaded mutants who were angry – and they suspected jealous – of their good standing with humans.

"There has clearly been some mistake somewhere," Magneto said finally, "if you thought it would be that easy."

" _We_ didn't. But Captain America and some others did, so we thought we'd humor them," she answered.

"Captain America," he said with a soft chuckle. "The man you both would rather follow through the depths of hell and back, rather than me – who has, always has and always will have your best interests at heart." He shook his head while the other mutants scoffed in disgust. "A pity."

"The Captain doesn't use us like we're soldiers in his army. He also doesn't callously dismiss anyone who has a different opinion than him at best, and throw them in prison at worst," she retorted. "Unlike you. A pity."

"It amazes how you two are the only ones here who think that way," he countered.

"Perhaps because you have everyone else here, like these two, brainwashed with your hateful, bigoted propaganda."

"Is it really propaganda if it is all true?" Before she could answer, he continued, "And everyone who comes and stays here does so of his or her own free will."

"Free will influenced by your fear-mongering."

He raised an eyebrow. "So, you do not think that the humans are planning on wiping us all off the face of the planet with their sentinels? Your own people found hundreds of mutants imprisoned in the sentinel factory in Alaska; used as fodder for their killing machines. Warning our people of that is fear-mongering?"

Neither of them could argue with that. Clint and his team had seen it with their own eyes. "We plan on stopping those people. But you can't lump in the entire race with those few truly hateful people," Wanda said.

"Listen to yourself!" the woman yelled. "How can you defend those monsters?!" She was about the same height and build as Wanda, but had several bone spurs sticking out of her shoulders.

"I'm not. I'm just defending the good ones."

"The good ones," she scoffed. "They're all bad; every last one of them. And if you don't drop this stupid delusion that your masters are all benevolent people, then you'll be wiped out right along with them!"

"Calisto is right," Magneto said. "You call _us_ delusional because we have a justified hatred of humans caused by their endless bigotry and hatred of our kind, and yet, you also have a delusion. You have fooled yourselves into thinking that the Avengers will allow you two to continue to fight alongside them. As I speak, Captain America is likely initiating a plan to do away with the two of you. Perhaps for good."

"An awful lot of assumptions without merit there," Pietro said dryly.

"If you think that, then you don't know Steve at all."

"Maybe not, but I know his kind." His expression grew dark, evident anger brimming just below the surface. "I have seen his kind at their worst. I have seen them wipe out entire swaths of their own kind of superficial reasons time and time again. I have seen them turn against their own kind for the smallest, most insignificant reasons time and time again. I have seen them oppress and enslave their own kind time and time again. If they would do this and more to their _own_ kind, what makes you think they won't do it to you two? How well do you _really_ know Steve Rogers?"

Pietro and Wanda stayed quiet. They knew from experience that much of Magneto's hatred for humankind stemmed from the inhuman suffering he and his family suffered during the Holocaust. Because of that and their own suffering on the streets of Eastern Europe, they could empathize with his point of view. It was the reason they stayed with him as long as they did. "There's a better way than stooping to their level. It—"

"Won't make me any better than they are?" He smiled bitterly. "Perhaps that's true. But my superiority over them never stemmed from my ideology or methods, but my genetics. I, you, we are all superior to them by simple genetics. That is something you can't argue."

"When you say 'them'," Pietro said thoughtfully, "who exactly are you referring to? I know, humans; but, can you really say that you're superior to, say, the Hulk? Spectrum? How about the Fantastic Four? You say our genetics make us superior, yet, there are thousands of people – humans, might I add – with enhanced genetics. So, how superior are we, really?"

Magneto, Calisto and the third mutant were rendered silent by his retort.

After a moment, Pietro continued. "Further, how different are we from the humans? You have said, ad nauseum, that we are the next step in human evolution. Which means that we are simply more evolved humans, but still human. So, how can we claim superiority over other humans when you damned them for doing exactly that? Also, I've heard you and your lackeys refer to us as "homo superior", as in we are a completely different species. But, then, McCoy has said that the difference between humans and mutants is one single gene – the X-Gene, he called it. Is one single gene enough to differentiate us as two different species? If so, then does that mean that blacks are a different species than whites? Men are a different species than women? Is that really something you want to cosign to?"

Everyone, including Wanda, looked at him with varying looks of utter disbelief. He only shrugged. "I think much faster than anyone else. And I have a lot of time on my hands." He had come to the conclusion years ago that Magneto's entire thesis on mutant superiority didn't hold much water once he peered below the surface, but he didn't have the platform to say so until right then. "Now that I've effectively burst your bubble, you can give up now."

"It sounds like you've been giving this a lot of thought," Magneto said passively.

"Ain't surprising coming from an Uncle Tom, Erik," Sabretooth said from behind them. A quick glance revealed that he, Polaris and Pyro were blocking their only means of escape.

"I'm surprised you even know what that means, Creed," Wanda spat.

"I've been reading the dictionary. I got plenty of mean words for the both of you, Witchy."

"You're just angry because my brother is right. This entire war is based on a faulty premise." She narrowed her eyes into a fierce glare directed at her father. "You're going to get us all killed because you're too blind to see that."

"Shut your mouth, dog!" Calisto seethed. Boney spikes emerged from her back, shoulders and forearms. "Shut it or I'll shut it for you. Permanently."

This was exactly what they were afraid of. Tempers were already razor thin and one of them had said something to set someone off. Funnily, it was the responsible and forethoughtful one.

Pietro instinctively interposed himself between Wanda and the advancing Calisto. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the three Brotherhood members move forward just before the doors slammed shut.

They were in a room made of metal with not one, but two masters of magnetism. "Don't make me hurt you," Wanda warned menacingly. "You still don't know what I'm fully capable of." _She_ still didn't know what she was fully capable of. Scarlet chaotic energy flared from her hands, scorching and leaving deep marks in the metal floor.

This was enough to halt Calisto and make the mutants behind them think twice about attacking. They weren't attacking, but they didn't back down, either. And they certainly didn't look like they were planning on letting them leave just because they didn't know what Wanda had learned since leaving. Pietro decided to take matters into his own hands.

In a flash, Sabretooth, Pyro, Calisto and the fourth mutant were all laid out on the floor, unconscious. Pietro was behind Polaris, left arm wrapped tightly around her throat and his right hand right next to her ear, poised to snap his fingers. "I assume you're smart enough to know what would happen if I snap my fingers at the speed of light, yes? Let us go and Lorna won't find out the hard way."

Lorna tried to struggle to get free, but Wanda bound her hands to her sides.

Magneto narrowed his eyes. "You have neither the heart nor the gumption."

"Don't I?"

The two men, father and son, locked eyes in a silent struggle. Their gazes never wavered, never faltered; if anything, they intensified with each passing second. The bodies of unconscious Brotherhood members at their feet, the two of them literally held a woman's life, their daughter and sister, in the palm of their hands.

Pietro's eyes narrowed a touch. His fingers quivered and twitched from the buildup of kinetic energy. If he released that tension and snapped his fingers, the resulting shockwave and sonic boom would kill Polaris instantly. He knew that.

Magneto knew that also; and despite Pietro's earlier insinuations, he did care a great deal about Lorna.

The doors opened silently. Picoseconds later, Polaris was on the floor, alive but unconscious, and Pietro and Wanda were gone.

"Well, that went better than expected," Mystique remarked as she stepped inside and around the unmoving bodies of her teammates on her way to stand next to Magneto.

He sighed heavily. "Yes, it did. I was afraid the Avengers were going to show up with them. I suppose Rogers is more afraid of us than I thought." He glanced at her, then turned back to the forgotten map of DC. "Are we ready?"

"Yes." She turned to face the map, as well.

"Good. It's time to make our opening salvo."

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Yeah, I know that Quicksilver never displayed that ability in the comics (that I know of), but since he's much faster in this universe, he's able to._


	7. The Best There Is

_**The Best There Is**_

 **Avengers Facility**

Pietro appeared suddenly in the conference room of the Avengers Facility. Wanda was out of breath, but he didn't even seem winded. He grimaced as he set her down carefully.

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"It went better than I thought it would up until the final few minutes. I had to threaten to kill my half-sister, Polaris, just so we could get away."

Steve decided to just ignore that final part, and instead focused on the first half. "Did he let anything spill about his plans?"

Wanda shook her head. "We know nothing more than we did when we left."

"Not entirely true. We know that he has the support of the Morlocks."

"The who?"

"They're a group of mutants with deformities and mutations so severe that they've been forced to dwell in the sewers under New York City," Wanda answered. "They are led by a woman named Calisto. She was there with Magneto on Genosha. I'm now willing to bet that the rest of her followers are as well."

"Are they powerful?"

"From what I remember, Calisto was the most powerful; level four or so," Pietro answered. "That was several years ago, but if she's still the leader, then she still is. Meaning everyone under her is at most level four." He sat down beside his sister and crossed his arms. "He is going all in on this war, Rogers. I explained, as best I could, why his entire rhetoric was based on faulty reasoning, but he didn't listen."

"I don't think he'll stop until we put him down," Wanda followed. Her voiced dropped almost to a whisper, "Maybe for good."

"It doesn't need to come to that," Steve reassured her.

"Yeah," Peter agreed. "We got the X-Men on our side, I'm pretty sure. And I'm sure that once we beat Magneto, the rest of his followers will fold quickly after that."

"Hell, if push comes to shove, we can just ring Thor up and ask him to whip up a hurricane or two over Genosha," Luke said with a laugh. He then grew serious before he said, "We're all gonna need to be on the same page here. Mags will likely have hundreds backing him up."

"There's no likely about it. When Pietro and I first arrived, there were hundreds coming in from Africa. If even a small percentage of those fight alongside him, we'll be vastly outnumbered."

"Yeah, but the vast majority just want a safe place to live, right?" Carol asked them. "I really don't think we'll be facing as many people as you guys think."

While Steve was inclined to agree, he knew that being backed into a corner with no other way out but to fight couldn't be discounted. And he also knew firsthand the effect a charismatic megalomaniac could have on the masses. He knew that Magneto would have very little trouble rallying as many people as he needed to wage his war. And that number was going to be vastly larger than any of them were expecting.

"I don't know, Carol. This guy has had no trouble getting people to follow his every word in the past," Rhodey said. "It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to get a large group of oppressed minorities to take up arms if it meant that their oppressors wouldn't be an issue any more. And once they do, there won't be anything to convince them that their side is in the wrong."

"Technically, they _aren't_ wrong," Janet remarked. "These guys have been treated like shit for decades. This happens all the time, right? And when it does, we always side with the oppressed, so why not here?"

"If all Magneto wanted was freedom, then I'd be fight right alongside him," Steve said. "But that isn't what he wants, not entirely. So, he has to be stopped. If he wants to sit down afterward and try and work something out, he'll have our full support."

He didn't miss the hypocritical standing he just took. It was easier to side with the oppressed during their violent uprising when he wasn't a part of the oppressive majority. But he was, and in many ways, it made him sick. It was important for him, all of them, to remember who they were fighting for and who they were fighting against. They weren't fighting for the government and certainly not the MRD, Trask or any of those other racist bastards; they were fighting to defend the innocent civilians that were going to be caught in the cross-fire. They weren't fighting against the mutants, but against Magneto and his Brotherhood.

He hated this type of war, where the enemies weren't as clear cut as he would have liked. Their enemy was intermingled with innocent people, and the people who just so happened to be fighting on their side weren't going to see the difference. In essence, they were going to be fighting a two-front war.

"Again, your lack of familiarity is showing, Rogers. Magneto won't want to talk with anyone when we beat him. What he'll do is hole himself away in one of Genosha's sub-basements and revise his plans for the next time he wages war. He won't stop until he's king of the world or dead. Whichever comes first."

His harsh pragmatism aside, Pietro did raise a good point. His father was as persistent as he was brazen. He wasn't going away just because he lost. If anything, it was going to strengthen his resolve even further. "We'll cross that bridge if and when we get to it. Right now, I want this dealt with as quickly as possible."

" _Captain, there is a gamma level disturbance in Washington, DC,"_ Jocasta announced suddenly.

The team a few weeks ago decided to implement a new disaster classification system to better help him decided how to best handle the situation. It had five levels: delta, gamma, beta, alpha, and omega. delta was the lowest and was usually handled by the weakest members of the team; gamma was next, reserved for disasters that threatened only a few blocks; beta were threats that endangered entire cities; alpha for entire countries; and finally, omega was when the entire world was in peril. That first week, their past missions were classified – Ultron and the Masters of Evil were omega level, while Loki was only beta. Had he won the Battle of Manhattan, he would have been upgraded to omega, also.

It wasn't perfect and not quite finished yet, but it helped tremendously in helping them be better prepared for their upcoming battles. There was no need, after all, to send in Spectrum and Ms. Marvel for Stilt Man.

"What is it this time?"

" _An assault on the Capital Building. Over a dozen assailants that are overwhelming the police."_

"Is it the Brotherhood?"

It was a moment before she responded. _"Yes. Magneto is not present, however."_

"Of course he isn't. Let's move, team."

* * *

 **Washington, DC**

"COME ON OUT OF THERE, TRASK, OR WE'LL SMOKE YOU OUT!" a man roared over the deafening commotion happening around him. Bolivar Trask was speaking before the Senate, practically begging for more funding so he could build his more advanced sentinels to combat Magneto and the Brotherhood. Just when it seemed that the senators were starting to come around to his point-of-view, the building was attacked. Over a dozen mutants bombarded the building with their various abilities in an attempt to force Trask to face them.

Undoubtedly, they planned on killing him.

The Avengers probably shouldn't have let that happen. Once again, they found themselves in a situation where they only proved Magneto right. There was no way he wasn't going to use this against them in his propaganda machine.

"Can't we just let the guy die and be done with it?" Jen asked with a frustrated huff. "Come on, Cap. You gotta know that Magneto is going to twist this to fit his point."

"I do know that. But if we let Trask get killed, the human side will strike back, giving him all the reason he needs to fight back. And it'll be far worse than it's going to be otherwise."

Steve only took a small team with him to DC – She-Hulk, Ms. Marvel, Wasp, and Spider-Man. Smaller teams were easier to keep track of and it wasn't like they were going to need any more than that.

Luckily for them, the assault was confined to the Capital Building. Unfortunately, it looked like the building was close to collapsing in on itself. The best and fastest way to handle it was to take out the assailants, then start getting people out. "Spider-Man, do what you can to prevent the roof was caving in inside," he ordered. "Everyone else, take these people down!"

Spider-Man nodded and sprinted inside more quickly than anyone could follow. Captain America and the others descended on the attacking mutants like a tidal wave.

Much like the cargo ship a few days ago, the battle didn't last very long. The mutants Magneto sent weren't trained even in basic combat and hardly knew how to use their powers effectively. Ms. Marvel mopped them up by herself, using her superior firepower, speed, and strength to overwhelm them.

Within ten minutes, she had them piled up in the middle of the street, unmoving and incapacitated. "Huh."

Magneto was far too talented a strategist for this to be an oversight. There had to be an angle he was playing that required sending in weaker mutants to do what just one of his stronger followers could do more quickly and more efficiently. Steve was afraid that Jen was right. He was afraid that they only went after Trask because they knew that the Avengers would save him.

It was a propaganda move meant to bring any last doubters or stragglers to his side. "Damn it."

Peter walked out while sticking two web cartridges into his shooters. "Good thing I brought some extra webbing. Everyone's safe and sound, Cap. Even this guy."

Trask sprinted out from behind Peter and up to Steve. "Captain, you have to protect me! These savages want to kill me!"

"And they have every right to," Steve said with narrowed eyes. "It disgusts me to know that your wellbeing is a byproduct of us having to save the people in there."

"Wha—what are you talking about?"

"These people have every right to want to kill you," he repeated. "You and your ilk have pushed them to this point with over five decades of persecution. You can't poke the bear for fifty-four years and then complain when it finally bites you." He reached out to grab Trask so they could escort him to a SHIELD facility.

Trask scoffed and batted his hand away. "I thought you were a savior of mankind, but you're just an apologist for those animals."

"I'm not a savior of mankind, I'm a superhero. I save everyone who needs my help – human, mutant, robot, alien, whatever. Like I said, _you're_ the reason you're in this mess to begin with. You made this bed, now sleep in it."

"I'm not the reason for anything. I'm trying to save humanity for those monsters!"

"You're a disgusting piece of shit who deserves everything Magneto wants to do to you," Carol spat. She grabbed Trask by his jacket and forcibly pulled him toward her. "Now, let's go, shitbag."

"But—"

Before he could start, Peter webbed his mouth closed. "Put a sock in it already."

Trask in hand, they started for the quinjet. They would drop him off at Coulson's base, then head back to the facility. Steve made a mental note to have someone pick up Pres. Simpson. She had a hand in the sentinel projects reinstitution, so she was an obvious target.

With the excitement over and the mutants being wrangled up by a team of SHIELD agents from a nearby base, civilians started to filter out of the area. Most everyone was heading in the same direction as the Avengers, except for one. A comically short man in a brown leather jacket, dirty jeans and a cowboy hat pulled down over his eyes.

Steve narrowed his eyes as he watched the man nonchalantly approach them. Then, with swiftness that was matched only by his savagery, he growled and gutted Trask with three metal claws that erupted from the back of his left hand.

"Logan!" he shouted.

Trask's intestines and innards spilled out of the huge gash in his abdomen and onto the streets. He moaned pathetically and fell to the ground, dead before his hit the pavement.

"Jesus Christ!"

"The hell was that, Logan?!"

Logan, otherwise known as Wolverine of the X-Men, snorted and retracted his claws. "What you and Summers didn't have the balls to do, Rogers."

"What we didn't—killing Trask is only going to make this worse."

"Can't get any worse than they already are. You wanna help, but you don't wanna come across as the bad guy. Can't have it both ways. Ain't nobody gonna come out of this looking good. Might as well get dirty with the rest of us."

"I don't believe that," he said, not sounding as convicted as he hoped he did.

"Neither did the Professor, and look where that got him." With that, Logan walked away.

What Steve hoped to prevent had happened. Trask had been killed in public by a mutant. Even if it didn't happen the way Magneto hoped, he still got what he wanted in the end. He could turn their trying to protect Trask as propaganda to convince the mutants on Genosha to fight with him. And the humans would surely retaliate, which was the spark need to ignite the war. It was inevitable at this point. Not a matter of if, but when. And the when was likely to be very, very soon.

"So…are we just going to let him leave after he, like, murdered someone in broad daylight?"

"You want to try and stop him, Janet?" Jen asked.

"Um, no thanks."


	8. Explanations and Decisions

_**Explanations and Decisions**_

 **Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters**

 **8:10 PM**

It was all over the news. Every station was playing and replaying Bolivar Trask's brutal murder in the middle of the nation's capital. Everyone in the world with access to a television, smart phone, laptop or tablet saw what happened. Everyone saw him die in Ms. Marvel's arms, just before he could be escorted to safety by the Avengers. It didn't take a genius to know that was exactly what Magneto wanted.

He wanted Trask dead. For multiple reasons – many justified – but the main reason was because he was seen as a hero to the human race. He was beloved by many due to his efforts in keeping the "problem" mutants in check. His sentinels were seen as god-sends by countless frightened people.

With him dead, there was going to be a violent backlash. Wars always started when some important figure was killed. Trask was that important figure, and his death was sure to spark the war that had been on the cusp of igniting for the last few years.

Retribution was coming, and it was going to be directed at the Xavier's Institute. Some adept internet users divined that the killer was none other than Wolverine of the X-Men. Once that news broke and it was confirmed by astute journalists, his face was plastered all over the internet and new stations within the hour. One report after another was calling into question the X-Men's policies – whether they really believed in what their founder preached, or if they were really a team of killers out to assassinate problem humans.

Scott ordered everyone to stay quiet about what happened until he could figure out what to do. Part of that was hearing Logan's explanation about why he went to DC and killed a man in broad daylight. Usually, he wasn't so brazen.

Scott partially knew why he did it. The Professor was in a coma after succumbing to some kind of toxin that had been planted in Cerebro beforehand. Hank McCoy was currently working on a cure for the toxin, but he was racing against the clock. Jean said that the longer they waited, the less likely he would wake up, even if they nullified the toxin.

The issue was that it was some kind of mystically enhanced toxin. None of them had ever seen anything like it before. Not even Elixir, the young boy who the WCA found on the cargo ship days earlier, could cure him.

At any rate, everyone in the institute was on edge; some more than others. Logan wanted to kick down every MRD door and slaughter everyone inside. There was a not small number of younger X-Men who agreed with him, and vocalized it every chance they got.

Ororo wasn't too sure it was the MRD or the Friends of Humanity, as first speculated. It being extremely difficult to impossible for someone to infiltrate the campus grounds without Xavier, Jean, her daughter Rachel or any of the other seemingly countless telepaths detecting them aside, the question of how they managed to enhance it with magic was too large to just go off of the assumption. While there were more magic users in the world than anyone knew, the MRD and FoH weren't very well liked in the gifted community; mainly because they hated all gifted individuals equally.

Storm made her doubts known to the others, but they, understandably, didn't gain much traction.

It was late, so the students were around the campus grounds, doing whatever it was that teenagers did nowadays. Most of the X-Men were waiting for Logan to return. Scott was pacing back and forth in the sitting room, hands clasped tightly behind his back. He appeared to be mumbling something under his breath.

Also in the sitting room were Ororo, Rogue, Kitty and Bobby Drake, aka Iceman. The four of them were sitting on the sofa and a chair next it, all watching their leader slowly come to a boil. "Try to calm yourself, Scott," Ororo said calmly. There was a hot pot of tea on the table in front of the sofa. She had just poured herself and Kitty each a cup.

"I told him to stay put," he said harshly. "Why doesn't he ever listen?!"

"The wind will blow in the direction it wants to," she responded. "We can neither control it nor stop it. We can wait for it to blow in the direction we need it to."

"Spare me the metaphors, Ororo. He's an insubordinate jackass who does what he wants when he wants with no regard to the consequences and how they affect him and those forced to be around him."

"Well Jesus. If I ain't know any better, I'd think you didn't like the guy," Rogue said with a laugh.

It was no secret to anyone that Scott and Logan didn't care much for each other. They had a good professional relationship, after several years of trial and error. Their personal relationship could only be described as two people who lived in the same building but never saw each other, didn't speak when they did, and generally couldn't be bothered to interact. They simply had two completely different personalities. If they spent any time together, those personalities clashed every time, ruining whatever occasion that forced them to be in the same place at the same time.

Scott regarded Rogue irritably before returning to his pacing and mumbling. Logan had made everything worse, and Scott was certain that he didn't care. As long as he got his pound of flesh, he was happy.

That was his problem – he couldn't see the big picture. He couldn't see that not every problem could be solved by burying his claws into someone's hide. There were issues that needed a subtler approach; this was such an issue. Flying off the handle and killing Trask played right into Magneto's hands.

The humans were going to retaliate. There was no doubting that. The only things they didn't know were when and how severe said retaliation was going to be. But, regardless of the severity, Magneto would have all that he needed to try and wipe them all out.

Logan put the X-Men in danger. He put the students in danger. It was the latter that Scott couldn't and wouldn't forgive. If something happened to one of the students because of him, there would be hell to pay.

"Can we at least _try_ to look at this from Logan's point-of-view?" Kitty reasoned.

"Yeah. Everyone get down on their knees and look through a cloud of cigar smoke," Bobby quipped. Kitty gave him a sour look, to which he shrugged. "The guy isn't as simple as we like to make him out to be. I know it looks like 'they hurt one of us, so we gotta hurt one of them', but I don't think it's that simple."

"Logan was just doing what he thought was best," Rogue said.

It sounded like she agreed with what he did. While Scott wasn't going to be shedding any tears over Trask's grave any time soon, he knew that his death was the beginning of a very difficult battle. They were going to have to do things that many one the team may not have been comfortable with. He himself was going to have some very hard decisions to make in the near future. Not the least of which being whether they should ally themselves with Magneto.

It wouldn't have been the first time, and it probably wasn't going to be the last. But, doing so would put them in direct opposition with the Avengers, who were going to be on the human side; or at least in the middle while leaning toward the human side. That wasn't a battle he wanted to fight. Not because he didn't think his team could win, but because hero vs hero never ended well. From what he heard, the scars from the Civil War last year were still fresh in a lot of heroes' minds.

From where they were standing right that second, there was no way they were coming out of it unscathed. A peaceful truce had been a fantasy since the beginning, but it was as good as impossible now. They were going to have to fight in this war, whether they wanted to or not.

The front door opened and slammed closed. Scott stopped pacing and turned toward the opening leading to the foyer when he heard heavy boots walking toward the stair leading upstairs. "Logan," he called out.

The footsteps ceased, followed by a brief exhale. "Yeah?"

"You have plenty of explaining to do, so you might as well get started."

"Ain't nothing to explain, Slim. Did what needed to be done. Nothing more."

"It didn't need to be done," he argued. "You put this entire school in danger going over there."

"They're aren't in any more danger today than they were yesterday. If Trask and his buddies were going to attack us, him being dead isn't going to provoke them any more than us being alive will."

He didn't want to admit it, but he had a point. "That isn't how we go about business. We aren't some black ops team that kills people who work against our interests, Logan. We aren't X-Force."

X-Force was a spinoff team consisting of Cable – Scott's son from the future – Domino, Deadpool, Warpath, Logan, and his clone/daughter, X-23. Unlike the X-Men, they killed everyone in their path to accomplish their missions.

"That's what we need to be. Doing it the Professor's way will only get us killed."

"You sound like him," Ororo said shortly. "Magneto's way of violence and retribution will only provoke the humans and escalate everything. We need to calm everyone down so we can talk this out like peaceable adults."

Logan regarded her briefly before responding. "You know as well as I do that the time for talking is been passed, 'Ro. It's time for action, even ones that we ain't exactly comfortable with making."

"Murder is never an action that needs to be made," Scott countered.

"Today, it did. You just refuse to admit it because you're too scared to do what needs to be done."

"I'm not scared, Logan. I want to do this the Professor's way. He would want us to handle this as peacefully as possible."

"Chuck's way will only work if both sides are willing to work at it. They ain't willing to work at it. They're getting ready to start slaughtering us by the hundreds. It's time to wake up before you get everyone killed." Before Scott could rebuff him, he continued, "I say you're scared because you keep holding on to a way that won't work. Chuck's been preaching peace and understanding for how long – 30, 40 years now? And they've thrown it back in his face every damn time. Now, they got him in a coma. I ain't saying we should shack up with Erik, but we gotta do something different or there won't be any more X-Men come the end of this."

To his shock, Logan was starting to sound reasonable. It was obvious that he had been giving this a lot of thought during the long drive to Salem from DC.

Was Scott afraid of doing things differently? He had been the Professor's most loyal disciple, walking his path of learning and tolerance for as long as he could remember. He was 36 years old, and had been an X-Man since he was 17. For almost twenty years, he had believed in everything Charles Xavier taught. It was all he knew.

But, nothing changed. People weren't any more tolerant of mutants today than they were back then. He knew that this kind of change was a long game, but he didn't know how long. Magneto and his disciples ensured that the next generation was going to be terrified of mutants. Who knew what would happen with the generation after that, and so on and so forth, but he did know that it wasn't going to be in mutantkind's best interest.

Scott knew that he had a lot of tough decisions to make in the very near future, and that this was going to be one of them.

He had been looking at the floor while thinking over what Logan said. When he looked up, he was gone. The four that were with him before were all looking at him, expectantly. They were waiting for their leader to say something, anything. _They_ knew, deep down, that Logan – and by extension, Erik – was right. They were waiting to see if he would admit it, and what he was going to do about it.

He didn't know, and wasn't about to make any decisions without thinking everything over. With that in mind, he walked out without a word said to anyone.


	9. Pulling Back the Curtain

_**Pulling Back the Curtains**_

 **The White House**

 **Four Days Later – 8:45 PM**

Four days passed since Wolverine murdered Bolivar Trask in the middle of Washington DC. Despite the flames of discontent being fanned until they had nearly grown into a full-blown inferno, nothing happened. People talked – the President talked about her consideration of waging war on Magneto, but she hadn't done so yet. No one knew what she was waiting for, but they expected her to make a move within the next few days.

Magneto hadn't done anything either. The truth was, he wanted some time to pass to allow the hatred and anger toward mutants to fester and come to a boil. He didn't want the humans to fight the war half-heartedly. He wanted them to use every weapon they had at their disposal, to utilize every tactic – civilized and otherwise – they knew. He didn't want there to be any mistaking or any excuses made when the mutant side won. He would brook no argument that the humans held back because of some misplaced sense of civility.

This war wasn't going to be civil. Everyone involved knew that. War usually wasn't civil, but this war was going to be unlike anything that had been seen in decades.

President Simpson knew that, and that was why she hadn't declared war officially. She wanted to make certain that all of her forces were in order and prepared to do whatever they needed to win.

SHIELD knew that, also. SHIELD, more than most, knew just what Magneto was capable of, thanks to his antics on the Insight helicarrier over a year ago. What they didn't know was what else he had at his disposal. He wasn't going to wage the war by himself. He had an army behind him, each one undoubtedly loyal to his every word and willing to do any and everything they needed to in order to win. Obviously, it was in SHIELD's best interest that the mutants didn't win.

It wasn't that Director Phil Coulson didn't want them to have their just due and to be treated fairly, but Magneto could not be the ruler of the world. That was what he wanted, if only to ensure that his people remained on top for his lifetime. Magneto's rule was likely to be bad news for humans.

It was a tough position to be in. He didn't like being part of the wall separating the oppressed from freedom. Those were the people that always were painted as the bad guys in the history books; in most cases, rightly so. It was certain to happen if Magneto got his way.

He was in DC with his team to make sure Simpson knew exactly what she was getting into. Both herself and the soldiers she deployed against them. With him were Agents May and Johnson. Any more and it could get suspicious. SHIELD still wasn't in the world's good graces after Hydra's exposure.

The rest of his team was still waiting on the Bus, which was hovering a few thousand feet about the White House.

"Director Coulson, thanks for meeting with me," she greeted. She held her hand out for a handshake.

He shook it firmly. May and Daisy stood back by the door. "Madam President. Thanks for inviting me." He took the seat on the sofa adjacent to her desk.

"Well, I figured you wouldn't invite me to your house."

"You figured correctly, I'm afraid. The reason I'm here is to brief you on Magneto and some of the players we suspect he has at his disposal." When she nodded, he removed a small black projector the size of a credit card from his jacket pocket. "Magneto you know. Class 4 ferrokinetic, the strongest such person on the planet. His right hand woman is Mystique, Class 4 shape-shifter. She can be anyone, anytime, anywhere. Other major members of his Brotherhood include Sabretooth, Class 4 berserker with a set of adamantium claws and high-end healing factor; Destiny, Class 4 clairvoyant; Pyro, Class 3 pyrokinetic; Toad, Class 3; Blob, Class 4 immovable object." Every time he mentioned a name, a holographic copy of their dossier appeared in midair. By the time he was finished, seven dossiers were floating above the President's desk.

"Next up are his Acolytes. On average, they appear to be Class 3, with one or two Class 4s at the top. Their powers vary too much to get a proper bead on. From what we gather, most seem to be energy projection or some kind of mental ability." Those seemed to be the most mainstream mutant ability, to his knowledge. "As for everyone else, I suspect that there will be a very large number of civilian mutants who will take up arms on his side."

"How many? A rough estimate."

Coulson took several moments to run some kind of equation in his head. He had zero idea how many Magneto was actually going to have on his side, but he knew it was going to it was going to be a very large number. Far more than any of them realized. "Well over six hundred."

She cursed sharply under her breath. "Okay. Okay." She scratched her brow before growing silent to think on the matter. "Is there any way this can possibly end peacefully?"

He didn't even need to think on it. "None."

She cursed again. "Didn't think so. I'll tell the Air Force to prepare an airstrike on Genosha."

"There's no way Magneto lets any missile within two miles of Genosha. If you plan on beating him, you'll need boots on the ground. Metahuman boots."

She smirked for a brief second before growing serious again. "I didn't mean an airstrike with missiles, Director."

He frowned and glanced at Daisy. She looked uneasy. "Then with what, ma'am?"

"The cure. Remember, Oscorp developed a mutant cure that works a few years ago. We gas that island, and most of our problems go away."

While he could see how that would seem like a promising solution, he had his doubts. "I'm sure Magneto knows you have the cure, so I'm sure he's already developed some way of immunizing at least the people who will be fighting with him against it."

And if any that he missed were gassed and had their powers neutralized, it was only going to embolden him to be even more ruthless in their behalf.

"Then what should I do? I can't just let him terrorize the American people."

"Use what sentinels you have to take down his forces, and depend on the Avengers to take him and his down."

"Not the X-Men?"

"After what happened with Xavier, I really doubt their going to be fighting on our side."

"And if you plan on shacking up with the MRD, neither will I."

Coulson and the President both looked at Daisy, a stunned looked etched on the latter's face. "What?"

"I'm a mutant, Madam President," Daisy explained, successfully keeping the emotions out of her voice. "I refuse to work with those people, in any capacity. So, if you plan on utilizing their services to fight Magneto, I'll be sitting this one out."

He couldn't do or say anything to change her mind; not that he wanted to.

Simpson looked as though she wanted to argue, but quickly thought better of it. "While I appreciate your conviction, I can't shut out a viable option. The Mutant Response Division is a necessary evil, for lack of a better term, as they are the best equipped to handle mutants of Magneto's caliber. If you've had a bad experience with them, I apologize profusely, and I will take what you said under advisement. Okay?"

A typical politician answer. Daisy gave her a stern glare that would have made the Black Widow proud.

Simpson cleared her throat uncomfortably and turned her chair to face Coulson. "Can we depend on SHIELD for its support, Director?"

He glanced at Daisy, who was still giving the President the evil eye, then answered. "As much as we can spare. It won't be much, but I trust that between the bio-sentinels and Avengers, you won't need us very much."

"Bio-sentinels?"

"Oh, you don't know." He pressed a button on the projector, and an image of one of the bio-sentinels popped up. "They're cyborgs designed the late Bolivar Trask and created by the Mandarin. They are, basically, carbon fiber or steel cybernetics grafted onto dead bodies. We found a sub-basement full of them at the destroyed sentinel factory in Alaska. Only thirty of the eighty we found were comprised of mutant DNA. I assumed that since they were there to begin with, you gave him the nod."

"I didn't—" She swallowed raggedly and breathed in deeply through her nose. "What does that mean, only 30% were mutants?"

"Meaning he was experimenting on human corpses." To prove this, he pulled a flash drive from his coat pocket and stood to hand it to her. "This has all the files the West Coast Avengers were able to pull from his hard drive.

When the word experimenting left his mouth, she gagged involuntarily. "Dear lord." She took the flash drive and placed it on her desk.

"You're the one who decided to get in partner up with this man."

"It was a necessary evil," she said, repeating what she said to Daisy minutes ago. "The people want to feel safe."

"It's next man up at the sentinel factory. And you can rest assured that they'll be continuing this project, with or without your approval. Dozens of lives, hundreds of corpses will be ruined. Is that something you want to live with, even if this doesn't get out?"

"What am I supposed to do? I can't just leave the American people unprotected."

"They aren't. That's what the three Avengers teams and the X-Men are for. That's what SHIELD is for. That's what the Fantastic Four, whenever they return, are for. Sentinels are an obsolete relic from a time when it was okay to persecute any and every mutant because that was all we could do. Now, we have better ways of dealing with them without resorting to this level of barbarism.

"There's no need to rely on an organization involved in kidnapping, human trafficking, illegal experimentation, murder of countless innocent people, and the desecration of thousands of dead bodies. None."

While she had a contemplative expression when Coulson was speaking, her face turned to horror and confusion when he mentioned the kidnapping and trafficking. "What are you talking about?"

"It's all on the drive I gave you."

She nodded and picked it up off the desk. For a moment that seemed to stretch forever, it just sat in the palm of her hand, as if she was trying to will it to give her its secrets. "Is it too late to change course? To try and work this out peacefully."

He licked his lips and thought carefully. He knew the answer, but it wasn't what she wanted to hear. He suspected that she knew the answer, also, and was hoping that he was going to tell her what she wanted to hear. That wasn't what he was paid to do. "Yes."

The initial flinch proved he was right. Even still, she was more accepting of the truth than he expected. "So be it." She clicked a button on her desk. "Marcie, tell General Ross I need to speak with him immediately."

Coulson flinched. In all the hubbub with Magneto and the mutants, he forgot to contact her about Ross being the Red Hulk that was wreaking havoc across the U.S. "Ma'am, there's something you need to know about—"

"Marcie?" There was no answer, but a soft gurgle bubbled through the speakers under the desk.

The lights suddenly cut off. It was well after nine o'clock, so there was very little light filtering in from the street lights outside. Immediately, Coulson pulled his gun from its holster. He heard May doing the same. "Madam President, stay calm and get down on the floor. Fitz, we need eyes inside, now."

It was a moment before the young engineer answered. _=Someone's infiltrated the White House, sir. Looking for enemy combatants now.=_ Coulson could hear him muttering something about it being a bloodbath in there. Hearing that narrowed down the suspects by quite a bit. _=Five combatants. Mutants.=_

"X-Force." He cursed silently and headed for the door. There was no way they were here under anyone's volition but their own. Cyclops wasn't the type to assassinate a world leader and Magneto would just send his Brotherhood, or do just do it himself. He was also sure that Wolverine wasn't with them. That didn't improve their odds a single iota. "Stay here. _Do not_ leave this room under any circumstances, understood?"

The President shakily nodded and huddled under her desk.

Coulson quietly opened the door and slowly walked outside. He took point, Daisy behind him and May bringing up the rear.

"We're outnumbered and severely outgunned, Phil," May whispered.

"I know." X-Force was not to be taken lightly. They were to the X-Men what the Punisher was to Captain America. Just as capable and infinitely more deadly. But, Coulson knew exactly how to even the odds, or even push them in their favor. "Daisy, call in the Secret Warriors."


	10. Secret Warriors

_**Secret Warriors**_

 **White House – 9:25 PM**

Coulson, Daisy and May crept through the halls of the White House. The adjacent hallways were secure according to Fitz, who was able to give them several extra pairs of eyes, thanks to his fireflies – a group of very small covert surveillance drones. Coulson knew that X-Force was a, well, force to be reckoned with. They were every bit as formidable and commanded just as much respect as the X-Men. Maybe even more so on both accounts.

As they made their way through the darkened halls, he had a decision to make. When they encountered X-Force, he knew that _they_ were going to shoot to kill. The occasional dead body they came across was evidence of that. However, he wasn't sure if he and his team should do the same. Obviously, their lives took precedent over any others in his mind, but the consequences of taking particular lives weighed heavily.

X-23 was Wolverine's clone and adopted daughter; Cable was Cyclops' son from the future/alternate dimension/something. Intimate connections to the team they so desperately needed to help shift the balance of power in the incoming war in their favor dictated that he find some other way to incapacitate them. He knew that there was no such dilemma for them.

"When we come across X-23 and Cable, shoot to incapacitate. Everyone else is fair game," he said in a low voice.

May hummed in compliance.

 _=Secret Warriors are inbound,=_ Hill chirped through the comm. _=ETA is fifteen minutes.=_

Coulson nodded. "We may have to stall until they get here." Fifteen minutes was a long time. A very long time against an elite mutant kill squad like X-Force.

The three SHIELD agents reached the end of the current hallway and paused just before the corner. If Coulson was correct, they were just a few feet away from the main foyer. He was just about to ask Fitz to scout ahead for them when, "Criminey, who knew the president had such a big rack?"

He stifled a groan. Of all the people they could have encountered, why did it have to be Deadpool?

"I'd love to see her oval office, know what I'm saying? Haha, you know what I'm saying."

"That doesn't even make any sense," a woman replied.

"What? I'm saying that I'd like to see the oval office. I'm sure that she, being a woman, has a very fine sense of decoration and I am eager to see it in person before I put a bullet in her skull."

"I'm pretty sure that's not what you meant, Wilson." The woman sounded patient, but it also sounded like that patience was slipping by the second.

"I'd also like to have sex with her."

"And there it is. Wait, before or after you kill her?"

"After, of course! What am I, a barbarian? Sheesh," he replied, almost sounded appalled.

Whether it was a distraction tactic or he was just insane, Wade Wilson did not shut up. Ever. In fact, Coulson was sure that he was physically incapable of being quiet. He was like a deadlier, more perverse Spider-Man.

He kneeled down and peeked around the corner. The woman Deadpool was talking to was Neena Thurman. The woman known as Domino had the ability to, in short, make good luck for herself and bad luck for everyone else. Kind of like Black Cat. Needless to say, she needed to be taken out as quickly as possible.

With that in mind, he nodded to May. She replaced her handgun with an ICER and dove out into the open. Immediately, she opened fire, hitting Deadpool twice in the side. He dropped like a ton of bricks.

Unfortunately, Domino heard her when she rolled across the floor and was already moving when she fired. That preemptive motion caused her mutant ability to flare. The natural movements of her body were timed and placed perfectly to allow her to just barely dodge each of the shots. In one smooth motion, she whipped out both of her handguns and returned fire.

May was hit in the arm before she could duck behind the nearest cover.

"Damn it!" Coulson drew her attention by firing several rounds in her direction. Again, they all missed. Once Domino saw that she was in trouble, she wasn't going to stop moving. Meaning their shots were going to be barely miss, which was more frustrating with the added foreknowledge that they were going to miss anyway. It also meant that her team was going to know she was in trouble and come back her up.

They were going to be quickly outnumbered and outmatched, with backup still at least ten minutes away.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Daisy hanging back. While an area-of-effect style quake would have done wonders for their current problem, he was positive that no one actually wanted to the White House to be reduced to rubble. Not to question Daisy's level of control, but he didn't want to take any chances. Not when Domino wasn't going to be hit if she knew it was coming. Any and everything that happened was on his head and his alone.

But, then again, they didn't need her. He pulled his gold pen from his suit jacket pocket and dove out into the open. "May!"

She saw the pen and ducked down.

Coulson tossed the pen toward Domino. Predictably, she dodged it, thinking it was a knife. When it hit the wall, it clicked open, unleashing its hidden flash bang.

Domino screamed and clutched at her eyes.

May took that opportunity to hit her three times with the ICER, dropping her like a stone in the water. "That's two."

No sooner had the words passed through her lips, Deadpool suddenly sat up. "Hot damn that hurt like a sumbitch!" He glanced at May, then did a double take before he kicked up to his feet. "Holy shit, I was shot by Mulan."

May snarled and emptied her fresh clip in his direction.

Deadpool's arm blurred as he drew one of the swords on his back and deflected each of the bullets away. "Don't be upset because you had to dress in drag just to join the army. I bet the fanboy over there loves seeing you in drag, amirite?"

Coulson joined in shooting at Deadpool. Every shot was either deflected or dodged.

"Does Mulan wear a nice blonde comb-over wig, a tight, spangled uniform and chiseled prosthetic chin when she pegs you atop an American flag while 'God Bless America' plays softly in the background?"

"Will someone please shut this asshole up?!"

"I'll take that as a yes! Just wait until my Tumblr followers hear about this!"

There was nothing, _nothing_ , more annoying that Deadpool when he opened his mouth. Coulson would gladly be tortured for five days by Viper, rather than listening to this man's insane ramblings for five minutes. Him talking while casually avoiding their attacks only made him more frustrating.

And he wasn't sure if he even knew how aggravating he was, which only made the entire thing that much more infuriating.

"We got company," Daisy informed.

Cable and Warpath came sprinting into the area.

"Honeybun! The mean drag queen and her bottom bitch are trying kill me!"

Not even a minute in and Coulson was already at his wit's end. He would gladly put up any amount of money necessary to end this loudmouth's life once and for all.

"SHIELD," Cable rumbled thoughtfully. "Do you understand why we're here?"

"To kill the President," he answered, thankful to have someone sane to speak to. "We obviously can't let you go through with that."

"And I can't let you stop us," he replied. "Simpson doesn't plan on deactivating the Sentinel program, so we're here to give the government some incentive. And besides, it's in our best interest to have someone in here who actually cares about mutants." As he spoke, he removed the insanely, ridiculously large laser rifle that was strapped to his back and powered it up. Its low hum echoed dangerously.

"There's a better way than this, Cable," Daisy insisted.

"No, there's not," Deadpool said. "We have to fight."

"Why?"

"Because this is an action chapter. We need action!" He opened fire on Daisy, who dove for cover beside May.

She retaliated by unleashing a shockwave that sent Deadpool flying and crashing into the wall behind him. "Cable, think! How will the government and military react if you kill the President? How will the public react? They already hate us for no reason; don't give them a legitimate reason to be afraid of us."

Cable's laser rifle spat out a large yellow beam that not only reduced the overturned table the two agents were using as cover to splinters, but also sent them flying into the next hallway. "Us?"

Daisy let out a pained groan as she rose to her feet. She rolled to her left to avoid a lunging Warpath and fired a shockwave to keep him away from May. "I'm a mutant just like you guys." She fired off another shockwave to keep Deadpool on the floor. "And I'm willing to work with humans because I know there are more good ones that bad ones. SHIELD, despite the bad rap we've gotten, wants to help people like us. We can't do that if you don't let us."

Cable was the most sensible member of the team, by far. Trying to reach out to him was the best possible course. And Daisy had an automatic connection with him through genetics. Coulson stood back and let her handle it.

"That's true," Cable admitted. "But the humans who _don't_ want to help us, the ones that want to _kill_ us, are far more influential. Simpson is one of those."

"You don't know that." A brief, but powerful rumble through the House and sent Cable stumbling off his feet. "You don't know that she doesn't want to help us."

"And you don't know that she isn't. If she was, then the sentinels wouldn't still be harassing us. People like Osborn wouldn't still be walking the streets as a free man after experimenting on mutants. Trask would have been locked up in prison for all the crap he's been pulling behind the scenes. The MRD wouldn't be able to openly kidnap mutants and ship them off to sentinel factories to die. Mutant corpses wouldn't be used as fodder for their bio-sentinel army. If Simpson, as you say, cared about us, then she would have put a stop to all of this months ago. But she didn't; she's allowed this to continue in the shadows, so she needs to go and be replaced with someone who will stand up to the inhuman abuse of her own citizens."

He rose to his feet slowly. Suddenly, he thrust his hand out toward Daisy. An unseen force sent her flying into a wall hard enough to leave a dent.

Again, Daisy rose to her feet. She coughed, expelling a glob of blood that splattered over her hand. She looked like she wanted to argue, but she couldn't.

"Not to mention the MRD is still operational, despite being unnecessary with the Avengers and X-Men around," Warpath added from behind her. The massive Native American drew a pair of vibranium knives. "Face it agent, there's nothing you can say or do to stop us. You don't have that moral high ground you like to wave around. Not here." He dashed forward, knife pointed outward.

Daisy just barely managed to duck out of the way, but still suffered a deep cut across her ribcage. She could feel the warm blood bubbling out of the wound. A harsh hiss leaked out from between her clenched teeth.

By that point, Cable had his wits back about him and was closing in on her. A simple flick of his wrist had Coulson flying through a door leading to another room. With May still down from Cable's initial attack, Daisy was all alone.

She knew how dangerous the two mutants closing in on her were, so she forced herself to disregard the burning pain in her side. "I… won't let you… go through with this," she gritted out in between labored breaths.

"You don't have a choice in the matter, traitor." Warpath threw one of his knives at her at blinding speed.

Out of instinct alone, she generated a shockwave to block the knife. The weapon landed on the ground with a loud clatter. "I'm not a traitor."

Cable fired several more blasts. Daisy kept nimbly dodging, despite the pain in her side flaring violently with every twisting movement. "You are, because you would fight for _them_ rather than us, your own kind."

Her teeth remained gritted. "I don't just fight for humans. I fight for everyone who can't fight for themselves." She barely noticed Warpath surging toward her and managed to duck under his slash. Doing so, however, left her wide open to Cable, who didn't let the chance slip away.

The ensuing blast sent her flying and slamming into the same wall as before. "Ow…"

Cable calmly approached her and pressed the barrel of his rifle against her back of her head. "You can't win against the both of us. Not by yourself."

Daisy grunted and managed to rise to her hands and knees, despite the heavy rifle weighing her head down. "You're right," she admitted, easily.

At that, they looked confused. "Then why are you wasting our time? Stand down and let us handle our business. I don't want to kill you if I can help it."

"She was stalling for time," came a reply from behind them. Before they could react, a powerful arc of electricity washed over them. They screamed out, then collapsed to the floor, writhing in pain. The stream continued until they were both unconscious.

"'Bout time you guys got here," Daisy said with a pained grin.

The Secret Warriors, SHIELD's response team for any and all Gifted threats. J.T. James, aka Hellfire; a short, auburn-haired young man with the ability to channel hellfire through his enchanted chain. He also sported a stylish goatee. Lincoln Campbell, codename pending; a tall, blonde electrokinetic. He was also an Inhuman, the very first such SHIELD agent. Yo-yo Rodriguez, aka Slingshot; a Puerto Rican woman with a unique version of super speed. She was the daughter of supervillain Griffin. Jerry Sledge, aka Stonewall; a massive, hulking man with no hair. He had the ability to mimic any surface he touched, transferred to him somehow from his father, Absorbing Man. Alex Aaron, aka Phobos; the reincarnation of the Greek God of Fear and the demigod son of Ares, Greek God of War. They were all dressed in some variation of SHIELD's traditional blue jumpsuit/white gloves and boots uniforms.

Lincoln hurried over to her and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?"

Much to her consternation, the adrenaline from the battle faded quickly, unleashing the full, unyielding pain from her collective injuries. As soon as it hit, she nearly collapsed, and would have had Lincoln not been holding her. "I…I've definitely seen better days. Sure took your sweet time getting here."

May shot Warpath and Cable with the ICER for good measure. She went to do the same to Deadpool, but saw that he was gone. "Damn it. There are two more here somewhere. X-23 and Deadpool. Find them and take them down; the latter with extreme prejudice. Coulson and I will find the President and get her out of here."

Daisy nodded and led her team down the hallway that began on the other side of the foyer. "Stay sharp. Kinney has all of Wolverine's abilities."

"But not his adamantium skeleton, right?" Yo-yo asked. She was a several feet ahead of everyone when she turned the corner leading to an especially darkened corridor.

"Right. But, she's still just as dangerous and just as deadly. If not more so. Stay sharp. Give us some light, Lincoln. Fitz, anything up ahead?"

Lincoln snapped his fingers, producing a ball of ambient electricity that powered the lights as they walked. When they passed by a light, the electricity would then jump to the next light source to power it. The illumination revealed streaks of blood splattered across the wall, floor and a little on the ceiling.

"Christ. This kid doesn't care," Stonewall whispered.

X-23 – or technically Talon, as that was her official codename for the New X-Men – was bred in a facility whose goal was to recreate the Weapon X experiments. Namely, Wolverine. They failed 22 times, then finally succeeded with her. She was bred to be a weapon, nothing more. She was a killer for hire, loaned out to clientele for a hefty price to kill a wide range of high-profile targets. It wasn't until her surrogate mother, Sarah Kinney, fled with her from the facility that she, Laura, had a chance at a real life. Her genetic progenitor, Wolverine, made sure of that.

How that translated to her being on a kill squad was anyone's guess. But since he was a member as well, they could only assume she insisted.

 _=No sign of Simpson or Talon,=_ Fitz reported.

That was both a relief and a bad sign. Talon was an exceptional hunter, and none of the Secret Warriors had any kind of senses to alert them that they were being followed.

 _=Wait—=_

"NO!" a woman screamed from further down the hall. "STAY AWAY FROM ME! STAY BACK, YOU MONSTER!"

It sounded like Simpson. Daisy and the team sprinted down the hall as fast as they could. As they got closer to where the yelling originated from, they could hear panting, grunting and what sounded like several swords being pulled from their scabbards.

"AAAAAGGGGHH!" screamed a man.

Slingshot was first to reach the noise. She saw President Simpson huddled in the very far corner of a small room. There were three dead Secret Service members piled up just in front of the opening to the room she was in.

A young girl, no older than sixteen, was stalking toward the president, two pairs of razor sharp adamantium claws extended from the backs of her hands. Light from the full moon outside filtered into the room, reflecting off the blood dripping from them to give them an eerie glint.

"STAY BACK!"

In a heartbeat, Slingshot dashed forward and knocked Talon to the ground as hard as she could. She had super speed, but it wasn't conventional super speed. She could only go as far as was possible in a single heartbeat, then she would rebound, as it were, back to her original starting point. This couldn't change. During her SHIELD training, however, she improved how many things she could do in a single heartbeat.

After rebounding, she dashed forward again, grabbed the president and rebounded back outside the room. "Find somewhere to hide! Go!"

She nodded shakily and ran into the darkness to a nearby closet.

When Slingshot saw that she ran inside it, she turned just in time to dodge out of the way of a pair of claws dangerously close to gutting her. Her fist blurred and impacted Talon's jaw, whipping her head around. She didn't waste a moment and tackled her through a table. "Stay down," she gritted out. They wrestled on the floor, and she managed to pin her arms above her head.

Talon struggled to gain just a little bit of leverage. A little bit was all she needed. "No!" She kicked Slingshot off of her and rolled to her feet. The next instant, she was propelling herself through the air, claws first. They missed and sunk into the floor where she had been laying just a second earlier.

Slingshot rebounded and landed a hard right hook.

The punch sent Talon spinning, but she used the momentum to launch a roundhouse kick. It was dodged, barely. As her foot passed by Slingshot's face, a claw popped out and deeply cut her right above the eye.

"AAAAH! Dammit!" Blood dripped from the cut like a faucet, making her instinctively take a moment to wipe the blood away before it got into her eye.

Talon didn't waste any time and was lunging again, claws first. This time, though, a shockwave from Daisy had her crashing into a wall.

"Stand down," Daisy ordered.

Talon slowly rose to her feet, eyes narrowed as she surveyed the situation. The team had her outnumbered five to one. They had three different people with ranged attacks, of which she had none. One was too durable for her to harm, and another was too fast to injure without luck. There was only one, Phobos, but given his name, she was wary.

The only light available was Lincoln. If he went down, things would get interesting.

Suddenly, something rolled on the floor. "Flash—" The tremendous burst of light cut the warning off. Everyone, including Talon, was blinded.

"I'm here, Junior," Deadpool called out. He, as the only one actually able to see, pulled out both automatic handguns and opened fire of the blinded agents. He hit Hellfire twice in the chest, and Lincoln in the shoulder and neck. They both went down in bloodied heaps. "I'm going for the high score!"

"Goddamn it!" Daisy blindly fired off shockwave after shockwave. She could only hear the sound of plywood being reduced to splinters, but never hit anyone of import.

"The AI in this game is godawful. Was it made by EA?" He chuckled and ducked behind her to slice through both her hamstrings.

Daisy screamed and collapsed to the floor.

The only three left standing were still feeling the effects of the flash bang. Talon quickly stabbed Slingshot in the stomach, and tried to do the same to Stonewall.

He was far too durable for her claws to penetrate deeply. He blindly grabbed the claws that were barely stabbed into his chest. His abilities absorbed and then mimicked the adamantium's properties.

"Well, shit," Deadpool remarked as he watched his skin turned silver, turning him into a living adamantium statue.

"You won't stop us," Talon stated.

"I would disagree," Phobos said. His hardened gaze matched her. Her feral eyes were unwavering for all of a few seconds before dilating. She backed away, limbs shaking like a newborn doe. "For all your ferocity and savagery, you're still just a kid, like me." He stepped toward her, his eyes never leaving hers.

Talon stammered out a soft reply, so quietly that no one heard what she said. As he approached her, she kept backing away, quickly until the corner she ran into prevented her from backing away any further. She sunk down and covered her head. "No, stay away," she pleaded desperately.

"Hey, what gives?" Deadpool tried to shoot Phobos from behind, but Stonewall jump in his line of fire. The bullets pinged harmlessly off his chest. "Hey, wait your turn, Colossus!"

"As for you." Phobos retreated from a practically comatose Talon and turned his attention to Deadpool.

"Ooh, is it my turn?" He dashed forward and slid under Stonewall to get to Phobos. "All aboard the pain train, Kiddo." He raised his handgun faster than either agent could react. Before he could fire, however, he made the mistake of looking into Phobos' eyes.

 _In a world without chimichangas…_

A quake of fear shivered through Deadpool's entire body, causing him to drop his handgun. The gun landed on the floor with a clatter. "No," he whispered.

 _...and where Ryan Reynolds was never born._

" **NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

* * *

The president was saved. X-Force was loaded onto SHIELD transport vehicles equipped with power dampeners, and taken to the Raft. The Secret Warriors were luckily all alive, though some were severally injured. Even with SHIELD's advanced medically technology, they were going to be on the shelf for a while. Predictably, President Simpson was seething once the assassination attempt was thwarted. "If it's a war they want, it's a war they've got," she hissed at Coulson, looking him dead in the eyes. He could see the anger and almost burgeoning hatred seeping out of every visible pore.

He couldn't blame her. He himself was beside himself that four capable agents were injured due to X-Force's presence. Almost killed for what? A political statement? While he could see the need to make their presence known to the world, this wasn't the right way to go about it.

Instead of doing all she could to avert war, as was likely to be the case after their meeting, Simpson was likely going to dig her heels in and push back. It was simply the way humans operated. Get pushed, push back just as hard, if not harder. That was doubly the case for the United States of America. They wouldn't and shouldn't let something like this go unanswered.

Magneto had been doing all the pushing so far; humanity was about to push back.


	11. Declaration

_**Declaration**_

 **Avengers Facility**

 **9:15 AM**

News of the assassination attempt spread like wildfire. By the next morning, every major news station on the planet had run several reports on it. It was a double-edged sword. Yes, it further widened the schism between humans and mutants, but it also put SHIELD back into the good graces of the White House. If there was any good news to come from this, that was it.

While he was glad, Steve wasn't concerned about that. He knew that the humans were going to push back and push back hard. The only questions were when and where.

He spent the last several hours trying to get a hold of anyone at the X-Mansion, to no avail. Either they were ignoring him or were too busy preparing for the storm to answer the phone. Likely the latter.

Everyone was on edge. The very air had been filled with tension for the last week. The team hadn't had the chance to even breathe, and didn't take the chance out of fear of being caught off-guard by a sudden attack. That wasn't good. The tenser they were, the more likely they were to lash out at each other, or worse, make mistakes when issues did arise.

Lashing out had already happened, to an extent. Some argued that they should march into Genosha and arrest Magneto. They had the right to, since he was an escaped prisoner and had been making threats for the last week. Proactively putting him back into prison would solve their problems, they argued.

Others disagreed. They reasoned that arresting him would only prove him right and look like the majority trying silencing the minority. The army he had been amassing over the last week would attack anyway under someone else's leadership, thus arresting him was moot.

Both sides had valid arguments. Arresting Magneto – and the Brotherhood and Acolytes – would solve a lot of their problems. But without a leader, the army and the angry, frightened mutants that had gone to Genosha for safety would lash out in anger. The war would still happen, but without that leadership, they would be slaughtered by the human side.

With that in mind, Steve fell on the latter side.

"Unbelievable," Carol scoffed. She was one of the ones in favor of preemptively arresting Magneto. "We can't just let him do whatever he wants. Being reactive will only get people killed. What happens if he sends Mystique to finish the President, huh? What then?"

He sighed. She was right, but she and the others weren't seeing the consequences, only the benefits of the action. "Simpson has a SHIELD detail watching her around the clock. No one gets into her location, and no one can get out. She's as safe as can be."

"SHIELD, a lot of good they can do," Luke rumbled. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. "Cap, their Gifted team got sliced apart by that dumbass Deadpool and Logan's kid. Normal folks won't stand a chance."

"And the longer we sit back and do nothing, the more time the mutants on Genosha have to be brainwashed by Magneto's bullshit," Sam added. "The more time they have to be trained and learn how to use their powers. The more time they have to get stronger." He shook his head. "The longer we wait to do something, the better their chances are to win this war. I'm sorry."

Steve looked from Luke to Sam, then to the floor. They were right, but they all weren't seeing the big picture. "I can't—we can't go over there and initiate the attack. We just can't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's illegal." Everyone looked at Jen, who had her arms folded and a disappointed look on her face. "It looks like everyone has forgotten that words aren't illegal. We can't arrest anyone for something that they say. If we could, then ninety percent of the country would be in behind bars. Including some of us right now."

"But, he's an escaped prisoner. That alone should be more than enough reason, right?" Luke asked.

This time, it was Rhodey who answered. "Everyone who was arrested by SHIELD when it was under Hydra control was given an official pardon. Including Magneto."

"Right. So we have no legal basis to arrest anyone. I'm sorry, but I can't let anyone go through with this."

"Then what? We just let Magneto brainwash everyone on that island? _I'm_ sorry, but I'm not letting that happen." Carol glared fiercely at the emerald woman. "This is war, Jennifer. And in war, sometimes we need to work around the law do what needs to be done."

"We're heroes, Carol, not soldiers. We don't act like we're above the law, even if it would make our lives easier. And unless I missed something, war hadn't been officially declared."

"And?" she replied snappishly, though it was unclear to which part. "That's exactly what we're trying to avoid, right? I can't believe you're actually arguing against this."

"And I can't believe you actually think breaking the law is ever okay. What makes us better than people like Magneto, then? Hm? Because if you're saying that we break the law to save lives, that makes us no better than the Punisher. No one wants that, right?"

"I'm not saying we kill anyone," she retorted. "I'm just saying we arrest him and go home. That's all."

"But, then where does it stop? Once we do it once, we'll do it again with the next big threat that looms. What if Dr. Doom comes back? Will we immediately arrest him because we just know it's only a matter of time before he tries to take over the world again. What about Osborn? He's a ticking time bomb of crazy. Why not arrest him so he can't gas a middle school? Hey, what about all those scary looking minorities? Better arrest them now so they can't rob anyone later." Her firm gaze beamed down on Carol from across the room. "Do you see what I'm saying? This is a slippery slope that none of us are prepared to go down."

"Don't speak for me," she snarled, seemingly having ignored everything she had said up to that point. "I'm not talking about arresting someone who dresses like a gangbanger. I'm talking about arresting a dictator who's threatening war. Where is the issue? How are any of you possibly seeing a problem with this? What is wrong with you people?!"

"Will it stop there?" Danny asked, remarkably calm despite the high tension in the air that was beating against his senses. "Say everything is solved by us putting Magneto and his followers in prison. Say the war is avoided and everyone goes home. Once we see how easy it made everything for us, who's to say that one or two of us won't start to think that this is a good solution to all our supervillain problems? Who's to say that we don't start arresting any villain we see, active or not, based on the _chance_ that they may commit a crime at some point in the future? It'll keep the streets safer, sure, but eventually, we may be arresting people left and right solely on the assumption that they'll commit a crime at some point in the future. Is that any way for heroes to go about our business?"

"We're superheroes, not a police state," Luke agreed.

"Also, Major, you just assume that he'll stay in jail," Janet pointed out. "There's nothing stopping his friends from breaking him out, just like they did the last time he was behind bars."

"And if that happens, he'll for sure go on some kind of rampage. He and the other mutants will double down and reignite the war," Sam said. "It'll be the same damn thing all over again."

"And if he doesn't, he can just take his argument to court," Jen added. "And there won't be a damned thing we could say to argue. Because up to this point, all _he's_ done is talk. We don't have any evidence that he has any connection with X-Force. The MRD ship and the sentinel factory? He did the same thing we would have done had we known about them."

"Hell, he finished what we started at the factory," Rhodey said.

Carol, seeing that she was suddenly the only one on her side, frowned and grew quiet.

Steve sighed. "They're right. Going over there and bring Max in, while it's the easy way to deal his side a big blow, opens up too big a can of worms to bother. The last thing we want is him arguing his case in court and winning. Even if we have the right morally, we don't legally."

"And nowadays, that's all that matters," Jen agreed. She smiled ruefully at Carol. "Look, once Mags does something illegal, I'll be the first over there. But until then, I can't let you guys do anything that'll get you in trouble. Okay?"

"Whatever."

"Come on, don't be like that."

"Shut up." She stood from the table and stormed off to parts unknown.

Steve sighed heavily and watched her leave. He would go talk with her once she had a moment to calm down. Right then, she was liable to deck him. There was no way _that_ was going to end well.

"Should we adjourn for a few hours while you go handle that, Cap?" Peter asked with a cheeky grin.

Steve just glared at him.

"Sorry. Just a suggestion. I'll just be quiet now."

"Best news I've heard all day," he replied, matching Peter's cheeky grin with one of his own. It lasted all of five seconds before he grew serious. "Besides all that stuff Jen, Danny and Janet pointed out, us going over there would only prove Magneto right in the eyes of his followers."

"But he isn't right, Steve," Clint argued. "He's dead wrong about everything."

" _Actually, he is right."_ Vision phased through the floor and solidified to float serenely in the middle of the collective. _"Magneto is correct in his assertion that the Avengers do not care about mutants."_

"What— No, he's not! We do care."

" _We have not done anything to aid them in their constant battle with the Mutant Response Division, despite us knowing for certain that they have been mistreating 'problem' mutants for years. In addition, we have failed to inform the X-Men of the creation of the advanced Sentinels, which has led to them losing multiple members and several more being injured."_

Vision was pragmatic, and listed out their sins before them succinctly to give no room for argument or excuses. Having their apathy toward mutant issues, especially not telling the X-Men about the Mandarin's advanced sentinels, recounted in such politic detail was as uncomfortable as it was damning.

Anyone else in favor of arresting Magneto right that second was silent. What could anyone say? Despite the WCA's endeavors to help mutants over the last week, there was little they could do to excuse their inaction the last year. A phone call would have saved the six X-Men who had been killed by the advanced Sentinels.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about the advance Sentinels?" Wanda asked the New Avengers. She, like most in the room, was utterly confused; she was also simmering with anger at her fellow mutants dying needlessly. The Avengers knew about them, but it boggled the mind that they didn't bother to tell anyone else. Like SHIELD or the X-Men, the latter of which were in direct confrontation with them.

Luke and Jen groped for answers, but could only shrug listlessly. There wasn't anyone in the room at the moment who knew what those machines of death were capable better than the New Avengers. Specifically, Peter, Jen, and Janet. This oversight fell on them.

Steve wasn't sure if Magneto knew about this. If he did, he wasn't saying anything. _Yet_. If any X-Men were still waffling whether to join his side or remain in the middle, he could pull out this single undeniable fact and have every last one of them on his side.

"Now do you all see what I've been saying?" Steve asked them. "We can't just arrest Magneto, because doing that will validate every word he's said about us. About humans. That's what important and what everyone needs to remember. This war isn't about punching the other guys until they fall down, then we all go home. This is a philosophical war, one where the ramifications, whoever wins, will be felt for years."

Even if they won, the relationship between mutants and humans – and the Avengers and the X-Men – was going to be destroyed for a very long time. Not even Professor Xavier's teachings of peace and understand was going to repair even a little of the damage that was sure to be done.

He understood where they were coming from. He knew how hard it was to just sit back and wait for an enemy to make their move, because being reactive would only make things worse in the long run.

The war was coming no matter what they did. The only thing they could do was mitigate the damage caused by it.

Steve hated being stuck in the middle. His entire life, he fought against bullies who liked to push the little guys around. Hydra, Loki, Zemo, Ultron – they were all bullies who used their powers to push people around to get what they wanted. Every time, Steve was right there at the front of the pack to stand against them. This time, though, he was facing a war between two bullies.

Magneto and the MRD/Sentinel program were all bullies. They used their power and resources to push little people around to get what they wanted. Problem was, Steve wanted to oppose both of them, but doing so risked him and his team being overwhelmed by both sides. That risk could only be resolved by doing one of two things: either pick one side definitively, or stay out of the conflict all together.

With as many innocent lives that were in danger, the latter was not an option. The former, however, threatened to split the team right down the middle. He didn't know where everyone's head was at. He didn't know who sympathized with the mutants' plight and who wanted to maintain the status quo out of fear of a world under Magneto's rule.

He couldn't blame anyone for whichever side they chose, but he knew that he was going to end up fight some of his own teammates, and that was something he could never live with. As totalitarian as it sounded, they were all going to fight on the same side, one way or the other.

"Cap, you know the military will be involved, right?" Rhodey asked. It was an obvious question, so it was likely just to break the silence.

"Yeah."

"And SHIELD, too," Natasha added.

"Wouldn't be the first time we fought against SHIELD," Monica mumbled.

Steve heard her and found her comment interesting. It sounded like she was thinking about joining the mutant side. He wouldn't know for sure until he asked her.

"But those were Hydra agents," Danny pointed out. "This time, it's Coulson. We trust him."

"My point was that if the military is involved, that will be yet another player that we'll have to contend with," Rhodey said. "As temperamental as Simpson likely is, I doubt she'll see the difference between an innocent mutant and an enemy combatant."

"There's no room for doubt in my mind," Clint agreed. "Remember, Gen. Ross is the Sec. of Defense, and I'm sure he'll have his boys ready to blow away anything that even looks like a mutant."

After a mere moment of ruminating over Rhodey and Clint's words, the video screen turned itself on. The news station displayed on the screen had just cut to a classified location as President Simpson was beginning her address. It appeared as though she was addressing Congress _. "…the last few months, there has been an increased awareness on mutant rights. There has been an increased sensitivity to the discrimination and gross prejudice that they have been suffering for the last five decades. The United States government and our allies have done all we could to make amends for the sins our ancestors have committed in the name of misplaced feelings of superiority. We have given our full support to such teams as the X-Men and X-Factor, for instance. I fully realize and accept that this does not even begin to make up for what humans as a collective whole have put mutants through, but it's the best we can do as a start._

" _However, there are those who don't wish for humans and mutants to eventually coexist peacefully. One of these was the late Bolivar Trask. Last night, I was informed to the full extent of his Sentinel program. I was disgusted by the plethora of illegal and inhumane acts he and his employees were conducting. In the very near future, we will be launching a full investigation into the Sentinel program and its procedures; after which, I will decide whether to shut the program down permanently._

" _Trask was not the only party unwilling to yield to peace. Another is Magneto. For over fifty years, he has been preaching the same hateful, prejudice rhetoric and convincing any mutant who would listen that mutants deserved to rule over humans, not peacefully coexist. For over fifty years, he has been threatening to wage war against the human race. Many times, he has attempted to do such, but has always been thwarted thanks to the efforts of Professor Charles Xavier and his X-Men. However, this time, he is going to get what he wants._

" _Last night, at nine o'clock in the evening, there was an attempt on my life within the halls of the White House. The would-be assassins were a team of mutants known as X-Force. And while they were thwarted, it showed me very plainly how serious some are. This has been the second attack in Washington DC by a group of mutants in the last week; the previous being against this very building, putting your very lives in danger. It is unknown at this time if X-Force has any affiliation with Genosha or if they were acting alone, but I do know for a certainty that his actions the last week put the idea in their head._

" _Men like Magneto and Bolivar Trask are a cancer to the planet Earth. They are actively preventing us as a people from coming together and living on this planet peacefully. They both foolishly thought that their respective species, race, what have you was better than any other. Trask paid dearly for his actions; it's time for Magneto to pay for his. It is now that I extend the following list of demands to the island of Genosha. Surrender any and all members of the Brotherhood, including any civilians that may be Brotherhood sympathizers. Shut down any training facilities that Magneto is using to train mutants for his army. Release any prisoners that may have been detained for openly or secretly disagreeing with Magneto's rhetoric. Allow the United States and its allies access to the training facilities and any facilities being used by the Brotherhood so that we may ensure that they have indeed been shut down. These demands are not optional. Fail to heed my words, any of them, Magneto, and you will regret it."_ Thunderous applause boomed throughout the members of Congress.

" _I would like to now address my fellow humans. Mutantkind is not our enemy. We are not declaring war against the innocent mutants who just want to live their lives peacefully without any trouble. To those mutants, I apologize sincerely for the danger your lives have constantly been put in by humans who have been radicalize by bigoted hate-speech emanating from seemingly every corner. I am truly sorry, and it is my sincere hope that once this senseless, needless war is over, we as humans and mutants can begin with renewed efforts to come together was one race, not segregated by a single gene."_ Another round of applause gave her a chance to pause.

" _Should Magneto fail to heed our demands in a timely manner, there will be consequences. We will have no choice but to then force him concede. That is something that I have been trying to avoid, as it places innocent lives – both human and mutant – in the direct line of fire from both sides. However, in the best possible interests of peace and this country, it is something that we will do if Magneto refuses to cooperate. If he and his feel that they can strong-arm those who oppose him into giving into his terroristic acts, he has another thing coming. If he continues this course, we will have no other recourse but to give him exactly what he wants. And that won't be good for anyone."_

Steve sighed heavily. Simpson was giving Magneto one last chance to surrender. Fat chance of that happening. The war was coming; she knew that just as well as he did. This was all to show that she gave every option a try before declaring war on Magneto and the Brotherhood.

"So," Bobbi started as the President continued her address, "chances that Magneto heeds any of those demands?"

"A snowball has a better chance in hell," Monica answered. "But, he'll give an answer soon, probably before the day is out. And it won't be pretty."

"She's right. Jocasta, keep an ear out for any and all alerts involving mutants. Everyone else, get ready. I want us ready to leave at a moment's notice in case something happens." With that, he left to go check on Carol.

He eventually found her on the roof by the ledge, looking at the snow flutter slowly to the ground. As much as he wanted to admire her from afar, he couldn't let himself get distracted. No matter how beautiful and radiate she looked with the snow falling all around her. No matter how well her uniform complemented her figure, he wasn't going to let that distract him.

With a deep breath, he approached her. "Hey, just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine," she answered.

Given her body postured and how tersely she answered, he could safely conclude that she was, in fact, not fine. He carefully closed the gap between them and slowly placed his hands on her waist. When she didn't tear his head off, he wrapped his arms around her and held her closely. For a long time, he didn't say anything. He just held her and gave her the time to let her anger subside until she was ready to talk.

In the meantime, he allowed his thoughts to drift away from the current events in the world and the looming war, and to how right this felt. He and Carol alone on a rooftop with her in his arms. They had all missed Valentine's Day the day before due to all the craziness happening around them. Not that he would have done anything special. They weren't an official couple. They hadn't even gone out on a date yet. But, despite all of that, Steve knew that this felt right. If he could, he would stay like this forever.

Carol had long since melted into his embrace, and managed to interlock their fingers together. "Thanks," she said after thirty minutes of comfortable silence.

"You're welcome." He kissed her on the temple. "Ready to head back?"

"No," she answered, her cheeks coloring slightly red. "Can we stay like this for a little bit longer?"

His smile didn't begin to capture how happy hearing that made him feel. "I'd love nothing more. Want to talk about it?"

A long sigh breezed through her lips before she answered. "I just didn't like how everyone jumped on me. If I'm wrong, fine, but I didn't need everyone and their grandma tell me so."

" _No offense, but you all have a wolf pack mentality when you're playing the blame game."_ Tony's words from a year ago rang in Steve's head. He was right then, and he would be right now if he was there to say the same thing. He didn't know why they did it every time. Maybe it was because they were so accustomed to dogpiling their enemies and it carried over into their more heated discussions. Whatever the case was, it wasn't a good habit to have formed. "I'm sorry."

"Why didn't you stick up for me?"

He tried desperately to ignore the hurt in her voice, but failed miserably. "Because, I thought you could defend yourself." He sighed lamely. "I'm sorry. I should have called them off sooner." He squeezed her unyielding body a little tighter to show his genuine repentance. "But, I'm surprised you took that position. It isn't like you."

"I know." She paused to turn around to face him. Their faces were only a few inches apart, so he could peer into her deep blue eyes with crystal clarity. He could see the hurt and pain that she was carrying inside. And it had nothing to do with the argument today. "I just want to stop this war before it ever has a chance to start. Is that so wrong?"

"No," he answered immediately. "But, Carol, every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time. And I don't want you or anyone else to carry that guilt. But especially not you."

Their eyes met and held each other for seemingly an eternity. Slowly, they closed the gap between them until there was only a mere inch between them. "You mean that?"

He could feel her warm breath tickling his nose. It contrasted sharply with the cold wind beating on his face. "Absolutely." His heart was racing. He could tell hers was also by the deep blush creeping across her face.

"I—" she started before snapping her mouth closed.

"You what?"

"I think I—" Again, her mouth shut before she could finish. His heart missed a beat as his imagination filled in the blank. Her eyes drifted close and she closed the gap between them. A figurative spark lit his entire body on fire.

Steve's hand reached up to caress her cheek and guide her to his lips. They barely touched – hers were so warm and soft – when _SNAP_. They separated as though the other were made of fire. "What—" Steve jerked his head around and found Peter standing a few feet away from them, camera in hand. "What the hell are you doing, Peter?"

"Um… nothing."

"Nothing requires a camera?"

"Camera?" He had the gall to look surprised. "Whoa! How'd this thing get here? Heh. It's amazing what happens when you aren't paying attention. Well, I'll see you guys later."

"Give me the camera, Parker." Carol snatched it out of his hand and deleted the picture. "Tell _anyone_ what you just saw and I'll show you what the sun looks like up close and personal. You got me?"

He took his camera back and saluted sharply. "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" The young man all but sprinted back into the Facility, leaving the two older heroes alone once more.

Once again, Steve found himself both relieved and frustrated that their intimate moment had been ruined. It seemed that the universe was intent on keeping them as just friends. "Well… better head back inside, yeah?"

"Yeah." She gave him an awkward smile and walked back inside. With a little more swing in her hips, he noticed.

 _Goddamn it, Peter._


	12. Massacre

_**Massacre**_

Magneto's response to President Simpson's address was swift and violent. Three hours after she spoke after she spoke to Congress, Pyro was spotted in the downtown Chicago area. He easily roasted any cops who tried to arrest him before turning his attention to a nondescript brown building. Said building was the known headquarters for the Illinois chapter of the Friends of Humanity, the very group suspected of poisoning Professor Xavier.

Led by staunch anti-mutant bigot Graydon Creed – who, ironically, was the son of Sabretooth and Mystique – the FoH had long been a thorn in mutants' collective side for years. Whenever there was a chance to stymie mutant rights, they were there to capitalize. To the surprise of no one, then, they were preparing to take advantage of the current high-level tension. Several of their members, including Creed himself, were making preparations to travel to DC to speak with the President and Congress about instituting a mutant registration act to keep track of all the mutants.

Creed had left hours earlier, but several important members of the FoH were still in the headquarters when Pyro arrived. The pyrokinetic mutant lit the entire building on fire, starting from the back exit all the way to the front. There was no escape for the men and women inside.

The mutant's blaze scorched through the building at a startling speed, reducing everything and everyone inside to ash in seconds. The entire blaze lasted all of a minute. However, a second fleet of police officers tried to arrest him. A battle ensued, one that saw one of Pyro's retaliatory fireballs miss its mark and sail past the police.

The ball of flame struck an elementary school, blowing a wide hole in the side of the structure. That side of the building just so happened to house the boiler room, where the school's gas heater was located. Just a small flicker of fire, no bigger than a candle's flame, was left of the fire ball; that was all that was needed.

A whoosh of air audible from outside and across the street heralded the devastating explosion that rocked and shook the city block. The entire school went up in flames. A horribly brief, but unmistakable, chorus of shrieking children erupted from inside the school's blazing walls. It was a sound that no one in hearing distance would be able to forget.

Pyro vanished in the chaos, visibly shaken and cursing to himself. He didn't mean to do it. If anyone thought to ask, he would say it was an accident. He wasn't a monster. He wasn't the kind of man who killed children, no matter the circumstances.

But, as always with things like this, it didn't matter. Once again, children died. Once again, someone's head was going to roll.

Last year, on February 7, 2015, Stamford, Connecticut was hit by one of the most horrific tragedies in American history. Just one year later, almost to the day, Chicago suffered a similar moment. One that was just as painful and just as catalyzing. That day last year, that cold, somber day, forced the nation to look at itself and its allowance of Gifted heroes to operate with no supervision and zero accountability. The fact that the registration act that followed, as well as the subsequent civil war, was all instigated by Hydra behind the scenes was irrelevant. The event in Stamford wasn't orchestrated.

Just like Stamford, Chicago forced the nation to look at itself. The President, a mere three hours ago, gave Magneto one last chance to avoid a war and the loss of countless lives. He spat in her face by attacking American soil. The fact that said attack was directed at a known human supremacy group, one that wasn't very well liked among the sensible thinking portion of the country, was lost in the heart-wrenching calamity that followed quickly after.

The Avengers were dispatched just after the second wave of police engaged Pyro. They didn't make it in time. It all happened just that quickly. Their quinjet touched down in an abandoned basketball court just a block from where the elementary school used to stand. All that was left of it was a smoldering pile of ash and bricks.

It was unreal how thick the smell of smoke and burnt everything was the closer they got to ground zero. Mourning parents and passersby stood behind a roll of yellow caution tape. Their faces were etched by a jarring mixture of morbid curiosity, pained devastation and unbridled anger. Pietro and Wanda, for this reason, were told to remain at the Facility. The last thing they, or anyone else, needed was someone losing control of their emotions and lashing out at them in an uncontrollable rage.

"According to police, he was attacking the building right there," Rhodey said, pointing at the first building met with enhanced fire. The only evidence that it belonged to the Friends of Humanity was Graydon Creed standing before it, shaking with barely contained anger. "Once the second wave of police showed up," Rhodey continued, "it all went downhill."

Danny was standing just a few feet from the elementary school. Steve had told him to stand by until the search and rescue effort was complete. There was no point. Danny could sense the chi of every living thing in a mile radius. He could not sense any chi emanating from the building. They were all dead.

"187 kids, Cap," Clint reported grimly.

"It's like déjà vu," Luke muttered despondently. "No doubt how this one will turn out."

"They all need to be locked up! All those mutie freaks need to be strung up!" shouted a man from the amassed crowd. Dozens of people began shouting, screaming, and yelling their agreement.

It all looked and sounded so familiar. The wailing from mourning parents, the anger expressed by frustrated onlookers, the helplessness felt by the heroes left to pick up the pieces. All the Avengers could do was help with the relief effort as best they could and look grimly to the very near future.

Steve didn't know how the President was going to respond, but he just knew it was going to be severe. She was at her wit's end and Magneto and the Brotherhood just insisted on poking her just enough to agitate her. Enough poking and she – and the rest of humanity – would explode. That day, that cold day in Chicago, was the final straw.

The only question was how she was going to retaliate.

The answer, as it turned out, was that _she_ wasn't. In a conference call between the director of the Mutant Response Division and the Sentinel program, she gave them full authority to do whatever they needed to deal with Magneto. Of course, she was adamant that no innocent mutants be harmed or put in any danger. She might as well have been talking to herself.

Given full authority to handle to mutant problem, they struck. Hard.

At seven o'clock that evening, an MRD Humvee was seen parked in an alleyway near Times Square. It was empty, but the cover to the lone manhole in the alleyway had been removed. Down several hundred feet below the surface, a battalion of twelve MRD operatives, fully decked out in military grade armor and armed with anti-mutant weapons of the same caliber, moved stealthily toward the location of a Morlock settlement.

Not all Morlocks followed Calisto's lead and went to Genosha for a better life. Some of them had been living in the sewers for decades and were unwilling to just up and move away after they had such an emotional attachment to their home. She understood and allowed whoever wanted to remain behind to do so. As such, there were well over fifty mutants living in the Morlock settlement.

The MRD knew that, and that was why they were there that night. The President had given them full authority to handle the mutant issue, and handle it they would.

A pair of mutants out for a stroll were blown away in an instant by the high caliber assault rifles the operatives were equipped with. Leaving their bodies right there, they continued on their way toward the settlement. Any mutants they encountered were killed without prejudice or mercy. Men, women, children; it didn't matter.

After ten minutes and the settlement in sight, over a dozen Morlocks were dead. "Bravo One in position. Preparing for the incursion," the field leader said in a hushed tone into her helmet's comm.

 _=Bravo One, proceed when ready.=_ replied mission control.

She nodded and gestured to one of her teammates. He stepped forward and removed three canisters from the grenade belt looped over his chest. The canisters were filled with the mutant cure. He crept slowly and silently in through the opening leading to the expansive settlement in which the Morlocks were living.

It wasn't much; their 'homes' were merely large wooden crates with one of the sides knocked out to serve as an entrance. The nicer ones were covered by some kind of sheet or decorative rug for décor.

The air was filled with the stench of foul sewer water passing through the pipes running along the walls and ceiling. It didn't bother the operatives, however, as they all had air filters built into their helmets.

The male operative tossed the three canisters into the settlement in strategic locations to cover the most area. They exploded, filling nearly the entire area with the cure. Terrified and confused shrieks echoed off the walls, creating an orchestra of mass hysteria.

People cried out in pain as their powers cut off suddenly. Many who were using their abilities for some kind of task, such as lifting something heavy or traveling over the large water reservoir that was in the center of the encampment, were killed if the task proved lethal without the use of powers.

The operatives moved in and cleaned up shop without remorse. Men, women and even children were shot and killed. Blood splattered over every visible surface. The air was quickly filled with the staccato of assault rifles barking and the thick, choking smell of gun powder.

The terrified screams of the Morlocks were the only things that could drown out the gunfire. Those died down quickly by the second until, two minutes later, there was nothing but an eerie silence to fill the lifeless void. In the end, 57 Morlocks were killed in the MRD incursion. While not enough to make up for the deaths of the 187 children in Chicago earlier that day, there would be plenty of opportunities to balance the scales of death and loss. A drone did one final sweep to make certain that all the Morlocks were dead.

They were.

"Bravo One to mission control; mission accomplished."

 _=Roger that. Return to base, Bravo One.=_

"Roger that." She turned to another member of her team and nodded sharply before heading back the way they came. As they walked, he radioed in for the cleanup crew to make their way in and dispose of the bodies.

* * *

 **Xavier's Institute**

 **The Next Morning**

The mood in the X-Mansion over the last few days had been tense. The Professor's condition hadn't improved at all in the last several days; it hadn't degraded, either, so that was a bit of good news.

Scott continued to waffle between joining Magneto and joining the Avengers in the middle against both sides. He was leaning toward joining the Avengers, since that made the most sense. But there was something deep within him that insisted on telling him that joining the mutant side was the right choice. He didn't know what it was, but it was nagging and he found it hard to think on the issue objectively without it popping up in his head.

The President's address the previous morning helped him make his decision. Jean told him that she was being genuine with much of what she said. That was good; they needed someone to have their backs in Washington, and the most powerful woman in the world appeared to be just the person they needed. While he was regretful that X-Force came very close to ending her life two nights ago, he was glad to hear that she remained on their side.

That was, until Chicago happened. It was over before anyone in the mansion even knew it had started. 187 children, gone in a flash. Scott saw the writing on the wall after that. Any support the White House was planning on giving them was gone. He couldn't blame her. Between that and X-Force, who in their right mind would trust mutants?

He couldn't expect anyone to, but that wasn't his main concern. His was the retribution that was going to come from somewhere. He didn't know when or by who, but he knew it was coming.

Whatever may come, the X-Men would be ready. He was going to make sure of it.

Currently, he and Jean were in the kitchen, drinking coffee while he was waiting to contact SHIELD to discuss the fate of his son with Director Coulson. They were enjoying one of the comfortable silences that happened during years of marriage when three students came sprinting into the kitchen. They were out of breath and clearly shaken by something.

"Mr. Summers," one of them, Sam Gunthrie, stammered.

Scott immediately stood and placed a pair of calming hands on the boy. "Sam, what's wrong?"

"Outside," another, Illyana Rasputin – Colossus' younger sister – said quietly. Her voice was hitching as if she was about to burst into tears at any moment. "We were on our morning jog—"

She did start crying, which prevented the blonde girl from continuing any further. It was there that Roberto da Costa continued. "We were on our morning jog when we reached the front yard." He suddenly gagged and held his mouth close. "They were dead!"

At hearing that, and seeing how badly the students were shaken up, Scott and Jean ran outside and into the front yard. There they found two dead bodies, covered in dried blood and bullet holes, nailed to a pair of crucifixes. In between the two crucifixes was a simple banner with a single message scrawled in large, red letters.

'Die Muties Die!'

"Oh god," Jean uttered in a hushed whisper.

Scott glanced at her while sighing heavily through his nose. Placing his arm around her shoulder, he turned her around and led them back to the mansion. "Get someone to clean this up," he said quietly.

It wasn't the first time he had seen a dead body, and it would certainly not be the last time. As unfortunate as it was, he knew that they had to be ready to see, and possibly do, things that could make them uncomfortable.

It was time to move outside the box.

"Have Hank prep the jet," he told her when they reached the front door. "We're going to Genosha."

* * *

" _The war has begun."_ – Magneto, X2: X-Men United


	13. Choosing Teams

_**Choosing Teams**_

 **Avengers Facility**

 **10:15 AM**

It was all over the news.

"… _and the X-Men are currently uncertain how the bodies were placed in the front yard without their security being tripped, but they suspect that the Friends of Humanity were involved in some capacity."_

"How the hell do 57 people get killed in this city without anyone knowing about it?" That was, of course, a rhetorical question. Steve already knew that no one had any answers.

"It must have been a covert operation," Bobbi posited.

"But, how the hell does something like this get okayed by the government?" Clint asked. "They weren't doing anything to anyone, right?"

The Morlocks were a peaceful settlement that lived in the sewer system so they could avoid the people living above ground. They rarely ventured out to the surface; when they did, it was briefly so they could procure supplies and food for themselves and the others. The methods they used to procure said supplies were questionable, sometimes illegal, but that was the only thing they did that most people had a problem with. Most everyone else felt sorry for them.

It boggled Steve's mind that whoever wiped them out bothered to do so. They weren't a threat to anyone. The ones that could possibly be considered one were on Genosha with Calisto. The ones that remained in the sewers just wanted to live their lives in peace.

"The President didn't okay this, per se," Rhodey answered. "She gave them full authority to handle Magneto and his followers, but told them to leave innocent mutants out of this."

"I guess they missed that part of the memo," Sam said. "But, why the Morlocks and not the X-Men? Makes more sense to me to take out the bigger threat."

"They were an easier target," Natasha intoned. "The X-Men have more experience handling anti-mutant task forces. The Morlocks don't. The X-Men are fighters. The Morlocks aren't. That, plus this being a covert operation leads me to believe that whoever, likely the MRD, caught them by surprise."

"They didn't stand a chance."

She nodded. "And now, this gives Magneto and his gang all the reason they need to strike back hard. And since an innocent party was slaughtered, that gives him plenty of options on who to attack."

"More than likely, he'll continue to attack the MRD and FoH," Janet said.

"And I still say we just let him do it," Luke said. "No reason for us to be saving those clowns, even by association."

Steve didn't think he was too comfortable with what Luke was suggesting. Still, everyone who worked for those organizations had everything they were going to get coming to them. There was no possible disputing that. "You're right. Our job going forward is to save as many innocent people as we can. Both human _and_ mutant. Understood?" He saw nothing but nodding heads. "Good. It won't stop Magneto and his followers from attacking us, so defend yourselves as you see fit."

"Won't stop the other side from attack us, either."

Steve looked at Danny and nodded in agreement. It was likely that those groups were going to be counting on them to be on their side in the war. When they realized that the contrary was true, they were going to treat them almost as badly as they were going to the mutants. "'If you're not with me, you're against me'. The same applies here, then. If you come under attack, by MRD operatives or sentinels, defend yourselves accordingly."

"And what about Pyro?" Carol asked. "It's his fault those kids are dead."

He could see where she was going and smiled wryly. "I think we have enough to go over to Genosha with a few arrest warrants." But they were going to have to do it right away. Any later and they weren't going to be able to get to him without going through much of the Brotherhood first.

Not only that, but they also had to remain vigilant in case any innocent civilians were in danger during any mutant/human skirmishes. The only way to mitigate that issue was to split the team up. One half would concentrate on Genosha and battle Magneto and his forces, and the other half would be available to protect innocents wherever the need arose.

"To make sure we're as ready as possible, I'm going to split the team into two groups. One group will concentrate on Genosha, and the other protecting civilians."

"That's a good idea, Cap," Monica agreed. "I volunteer for Team Civilians. Those sentinels and MRD goons won't last long against me."

He nodded. "Alright. Any other volunteers?"

Danny and Luke shared a glance. "Me and Danny are with Monica."

"Aw, that's sweet," Janet teased.

Luke and Danny rolled their eyes.

One by one, the heroes voiced where they wished to go in the coming days. Carol, Jen, Janet, Steve, Wanda, Pietro, Natasha, Sam, and Clint chose to go to Genosha to face Magneto and his Brotherhood head on. Luke, Monica, Danny, Scott, Peter, Bobbi, Rhodey, and Vision decided to stay behind and protect any innocent civilians that were caught in the crosshairs.

Both teams knew what their assignments were and acknowledged just how vital each team's role was. If one failed, then the war was lost, one way or the other. There was still a chance for forward thinking people to achieve peace between the two races, but those holding everyone back had to be taken out of the equation. That meant Magneto had to be behind bars and the MRD and sentinel program had to be dismantled.

It was the only way.

The teams went their separate ways to mentally prepare for their tasks. Everything was riding on them succeeding. They couldn't fail.

Carol noticed that Jen was heading for the hallway leading to the gym and hurried to catch up to her. "Hey, Jennifer?"

The jade giantess sighed softly, though likely at being called by her full name, and turned slightly. "Yeah?"

"I, uh," she grew rueful and toed the lines in between the ceramic tiles on the floor, "I'm sorry about yesterday. I got heated, and… I shouldn't have taken it out on you. Sorry."

Jen smiled appreciatively. "Hey, don't worry about it. We're all a little on edge. Besides, you just wanna do the right thing, right?"

"Right. It's just I feel like shit for shitting on you like that. You were just looking out for me."

"Just buy me a few rounds and we'll call it even." Despite how humored she sounded by the suggestion, she looked as though something was bothering her. "You were a lot more heated than anyone else. What's up?"

"Nothing," she answered. Too quickly. "I just want to avoid this whole stupid war."

"So did Sam, but he didn't sound like he wanted to rip someone's head off."

"Hey, you said don't worry about that."

"Just making an observation." She folded her massive arms over her chest. Her imposing figure towered over Carol by almost seven inches. "Now, talk."

"Christ. I can see why you're a successful lawyer," she mumbled. "Fine. I had a bad run in with Mystique last year."

Jen raised her eyebrows expectantly.

Carol sighed. "I had some time off around Easter, so I went back home to Boston. Mystique was there, raising trouble like always. Rogue was with her. When I tried to stop her, Rogue starting sapping my powers. She held on too long and ended up sucking away a lot of my memories. I was in a coma for a few weeks, and when I came to, I found that I couldn't remember a lot of my past." She shrugged listlessly. "I'm getting more back every day, but it's like I'm watching one of those biography movies or something. It's like I don't have any emotional attachment to my memories."

Jen's eyebrows sunk into a sad frown. "Aw, Carol," she said softly as she reached to give her a hug.

Carol slapped her hand away. "Stop that. I don't need any pity from anyone. Like I said, I'm getting my memories back, and Dr. Cho said that the emotional attachment should return over time. So, don't worry about me; I'll be fine."

"Okay. But, why am I just now finding out about this?"

Whatever scathing remark Carol had prepared died when she heard the sincerity in her voice. "I didn't want anyone to know and think they had to coddle me or protect me or some shit. My team knows and I told them not to tell anyone else. Not even the other teams." She shrugged. "Sorry, but I don't want a lot of people to know about this."

"Okay, I understand."

"No offense, but no, you don't." She sighed shakily and stepped back until her back hit the wall. "When I woke up from my coma, I couldn't remember anything. My name… my mother… Steve. I couldn't recognize their faces." Her hitching breaths heralded the tears streaming down her cheeks. "Know what I thought when I saw him at the hospital? 'Wow, the doctor is really cute'."

Jen watched Carol, this impossibly tough woman, break down in tears. The urge to hold her, to give her a strong shoulder to cry on was overwhelming, but she knew her well enough to know that she would resent it and her for a very long time. So she just stood there, watching someone else cry and not knowing what to say or do to make it any better.

"She took everything from me," she choked out. "Her and that bitch mother of hers." And sadness visible on her face was gradually replaced with seething anger. "So, I'm going over there and I'm going to pay them both back. The only way I know how."

She was thankful that Carol was calming down on her own. It was weird seeing her so vulnerable. "You think Rogue will be there?"

"I know she will."

"Well, in that case, I'm going to help. No one fucks with my teammates and gets away with it." She gave her shoulder a light squeeze and smiled. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks. I appreciate the help. But, are you sure? Mystique is a vindictive woman. She'll rain hell down on you, just like she did me."

Jen shrugged her massive shoulders. "I figure I can take whatever she can dish out. Besides, she knows not to make me angry."

A thankful smile crossed her tear-streaked face. "Thank you, Jennifer. You don't know how much this means to me."

"Jen. Call me Jen."

"Jen." Carol walked away until she vanished around the corner. Where she was going, Jen didn't know for sure, but she knew she was going to be okay. Carol didn't look to be the type to let stuff like this keep her down for very long.

"Why would she do that?" The last she checked, Rogue was a hero. She was a longtime member of the X-Men. They had fought together, broken up crimes together. She saw in Rogue a kindred spirit; a woman who knew what it was like to be cursed by her own power.

"Why did who do what?"

Jen looked up and saw Janet sitting on one of the bench-press machines. She wasn't actually working out, but was instead just taking selfies by the workout equipment. "Uh… why would Rogue wear white after Labor Day? I saw a picture on Instagram."

"Ew, gross. That hick has no style at all." She shook her head and hopped off the machine. "Getting ready to pump some iron, eh?"

"Yeah." She didn't sound too pleased about it, strangely. That was because it wasn't _Jen_ that was about to work out, but _Jennifer._

"Jeez. Try to curb your enthusiasm a little." All she received was a withering look. "What's your problem?"

"I _hate_ being Jennifer." She scowled at the floor and sat down where Janet had been sitting. "You know how Bruce hates being the Hulk and will only transform when necessary?" Janet nodded. "Well, it's the opposite for me. I love being a hulk and will only shift back to 'normal' when I absolutely need to."

"But why?" She sounded confused, and her face showed it.

"Because she's so fucking… she's such a dork. Why should I stop being green and start being some nerdy, mousy little twerp would can't fight her way out of a paper bag? The only reason I'm doing this now is because Clint found out that _I_ get stronger the stronger _Jennifer_ gets." She let out a disgruntled sigh. As the air slowly left her, her form shrunk noticeable, her hair turned from forest green to brown and her skin lightened to a paler hue.

"Um, hi, Jennifer. Long time no see."

Jennifer smiled sheepishly and waved. "Hi, Janet. I know; Jen likes to keep me locked away."

It was so weird to Janet that Jennifer and Jen referred to each other as if they were two different people. They kind of were, in many ways, but they were still one and the same. Jen was just a more outgoing Jennifer, after all. She thought. She was pretty sure that was how it went. "Yeah… she had some mean things to say about you just now."

"I know, I heard." She sighed and settled down in the weight machine. "Spot me?"

She nodded and pocketed her phone. "So, why are you two so at odds with one another?"

Jennifer shrugged before lifting placing several fifty pound weights on the barbell. "Not sure. I just think she doesn't think much of me. I know I'm not the biggest woman in the world, but I'm more capable than she thinks."

Janet counted the weights she was putting on the bar. Eight fifty pound weights. Not surprising; Jennifer looked _much_ more muscular than she did the last time she saw her. Admittedly, that was a year ago, but still. "I don't doubt it. These tall women think us small girls can't handle ourselves."

She laughed as she settled down under the barbell after securing the weights. She lifted the bar off the rack with ease, then started her set. "I wish there was some way I could talk to her so we could hash this out. I don't like being one of those people who has two different personalities who don't like each other. Or one doesn't like the other. I don't know."

"Heh. Hearing you talk makes me glad there's only one of me."

"You're not the only one."

"Ohoho, you got jokes. Hey, between you and me, I think she's jealous."

"Jealous? Of me?"

"Totally. It's not like the brains vs brawn thing your cousin has to deal with, but more like introvert vs extrovert. She's all outgoing and stuff and hates having to drag her shy other half around." That made complete sense to Janet.

"That… doesn't sound like jealousy."

"I mean, yeah… but kind of, right?"

"No, not really."

"It does to me, so there."

Janet helped Jennifer complete four sets of four hundred pounds before she put the bar back on the rack. "Thanks, Jan. Ugh, I hate lifting weights."

She laughed and helped her put the weights back in their place. "I feel you on that. But, you gotta do what you gotta do."

"Yeah. And it's been working, too. Jen's base strength has tripled in the last year, so there's that." With that, she sighed heavily. "Better bring her back out so she can get ready. I'll see you later, Jan."

"Bye, Jennifer." Janet turned to leave just as the diminutive woman let out a guttural, inhuman groan. She shuddered and quickened her pace. But, before she could get to the door, a large green hand lifted her up by the back of her collar. "Hey, stop! You're giving me a wedgie!"

Jen didn't look amused in the slightest. "What do you mean I'm jealous of Jennifer?"

She laughed nervously. "Uh, I could have been mistaken?"

Jen poked her in the stomach with her index finger, which felt like she had just been hit with a sledgehammer. The air rushed out of Janet's body like she was a bellows being squeezed to start a fire. "How's that for jealous?"

She dropped to the floor and didn't move. A pathetic moan trickled out as her arms moved to wrap around her midsection. A sharp pain was pulsating throughout her entire torso. _Not how I saw my day going._ "Definitely… jealous… that you can... breathe right now…"

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go find an Asian guy to have sex with while you lose consciousness." She headed for the door, but not before picking the smaller woman up and tucking her under her massive arm.

Peter just so happened to be passing by when he saw Janet's state and heard Jen's remark. He cringed and moved out of the jade giantess' way. "Ouch. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't hold a grudge."

"Shut… up… Peter."

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Didn't anticipate included that part of Carol's history, but here we are. I'll probably do a flashback soon to show what happened._


	14. Out of Control

_**A/N:** Just a heads up, the mutant in this chapter is an OC, so no need to scour Google to found out who she is. :)_

* * *

 _ **Out of Control**_

 **San Francisco, California – 12:20 PM**

Hours later, the humans' attack on the mutants continued. A fleet of sentinels twenty-five in number descended on the city of San Francisco in the late afternoon. They had one mission: to kill every mutant in sight.

There weren't as many mutants in the United States as there had been a few days ago, as most of them left for Genosha. Even still, there was still a healthy number in San Francisco, which was one of the more tolerate cities when it came to mutants. While that gained the city much positive publicity and favor with the mutant population, it had also gained it much scrutiny from the government and bigoted portion of the country. As a result of its opening its doors to any mutants seeking a refuge but were unable to make it to Genosha, it was the target of the sentinel salvo.

There were over two thousand mutants living throughout the city. Without warning, the sentinel fleet – which was a mixture of the classic purple and jet black advanced sentinels – descended on the city with unyielding ruthlessness. Wherever there was a mutant, they attacked two or three at a time, bombarding him or her and everyone around with missiles and energy blasts until the mutant was reduced to nothing but a bloody smear and a memory.

Strangely, unlike in times past, they made no effort to clear out the human civilians during their mutant hunting sessions. As such, there were dozens of humans who either got caught up or dangerously close to being caught in the crossfire. Bodies, human and mutant alike, lay in the streets, unmoving and bloody.

Spectrum was the first to arrive in the city, but she was too late to save many of the people facing the mechanical wrath. "There's over two dozen," she reported to the others on the quinjet. "Seven of them are those advanced sentinels that we didn't tell anyone about. The rest are the normal ones."

 _=Great. Take out the normal ones as quickly as you can. After that, get as many civilians out of there as you can. We'll be there in ten minutes,=_ Luke responded.

Monica nodded, despite no one being there to see her. She shifted into her light form and started zipping around the city. A thin, barely seen beam of light, she tore through the classic sentinels as if they were made of tin foil. Any civilians that were being accosted by the advanced sentinels suddenly disappeared and then reappeared miles away to a place where they could escape to further safety.

In just a few short minutes, ten sentinels had been reduced to scrap and none of them were wise as to what was happening. They knew that someone or something was attacking them, but they had no idea what it was or, more importantly, where it was coming from.

 _=Five minutes out,=_ Luke reported. _=How's it coming?=_

"It's going great." She nearly said that it was easy, but stopped herself. Everyone knew how that would have turned out. "There may not be anything else left when you guys show up."

That was, of course, just a boastful quip. She knew that the advanced sentinels were going to give even her trouble. She could see them as she passed by; they had copied countless mutant abilities, to the point that each of them were displaying five or six powers each. Luckily for her, none of the mutants that were present had any considerable speed, so she was still vastly faster than the machines. Still, it was going to be hard for her to take them down without being seen and tracked.

It was a little strange that they only sent ten of the advanced sentinels. Considering how more capable they were than the classic ones, she would have thought they would have sent only those. Unless there weren't that many of them to spare, in which case she felt relieved.

Monica rose high above the city to reassess the situation. In a little less than ten minutes, she had destroyed nearly all of the classic sentinels and saved hundreds of people from the advanced ones. The city was close to empty; the people that were still in the city limits were close to crossing over into other counties.

"Alright. Everything is going good." She was about to head back down when something slammed into her from behind. "Agh!"

Whatever it was wrapped its arms around her and rocketed her into a parked car. **"Mutant sympathizer detected."** The sentinel, which had been invisible when he attacked Monica, loomed over the bleeding and barely conscious woman. **"Preparing to neutralize target."** It raised its arm, producing a simmering fireball. It was about to incinerate her when she suddenly zipped away and reignited her light form.

"You caught me off-guard, you piece of shit," she snarled. "Try that shit again."

" **Mutant sympathizer, cease all obstructive activities."**

"Obstruct on this!" She fired a wide beam that engulfed its torso. It wasn't destroyed, but it was riddled enough that the energy contained in its power cell began to leak out. From there, she was able to absorb the energy until it was a hollow husk of gears and circuits. "Shit," she huffed as she fell to a knee. Her arm and chest were killing her from being slammed in the car from so high up. There was a large gash on her forehead that was bleeding like a faucet.

"Monica!" Rhodey rocketed down and landed beside her. The others weren't far behind. "You're hurt."

"No shit." She wobbly rose to her feet. "I'll be fine." She wiped her forehead, only to grimace at all the blood that was smeared on her black sleeve. "There are six left. Worry about those."

He nodded and rocketed toward the nearest sentinel. Along the way, he grabbed a pair of mutants that were about to be blasted into oblivion and airlifted them to safety.

" **Mutant sympathizer detected."**

Rhodey swerved around a pair of missiles that were sent his way and returned with a pair of missiles of his own. They struck true, but didn't do much damage. "Jo, give me a scan of the sentinel's chassis."

It was a moment before she answered. _"It appears that its chassis has been triply reinforced. Possibly due to copying a mutant ability."_

In the past, Rhodey would have been worried about facing another robotic death machine with an extremely durable outer shell. Of course, he didn't know Vision back then. "Not an issue."

On cue, the synthazoid zipped in and passed right through the sentinel. The giant robot seized up briefly before the dropping to the ground. The light faded from its eyes, leaving only a blank robotic stare. _"Colonel Rhodes, there are three sentinels attacking an apartment building three blocks down. It was my understanding that these machines do not put human lives in danger."_

As they rocketed over to assist, Rhodey answered. "Normally, you're right. But, this isn't a normal time. I really don't know what's going on with these things. I've never heard them classify anyone as a mutant sympathizer before."

It was certainly a new term for most everyone. If there was one thing the sentinels did, it was protecting humans no matter what. _"Do you believe that the MRD is sending mutant supporters a message?"_

Before he could answer, there was a tremendous explosion accompanied by a large cloud of dust. "Aw, damn it!" Rhodey activated his infrared vision and saw dozens of people running away from the apartment building that they were headed to. There were several more bodies lying on the ground. "It's like they're actively attacking people."

" _There are mutants in the vicinity,"_ Vision noted.

"I know that, but something isn't right here." He scanned the surrounding area. There were people running in every direction. He didn't know what he was looking for, but knew that he would know it when he saw it. "I think someone is controlling these sentinels and making them attack these people."

"I think you're right." Before either of them could respond, their respective systems crashed. Rhodey hit the ground hard. A young woman, maybe no older than twenty stepped forward until she was only a few feet away from them. "You homo sapiens will pay for what you've done to us."

He should have known. No matter what, sentinels never put human lives in danger intentionally. He should have known that a mutant had taken control of them and was using them to kill humans. But why put mutant lives in danger?

Unless she didn't have full control over all the sentinels.

Vision was out of commission. He himself was useless without his armor. Luckily, he had the manual release placed inside the helmet just in case something like this ever happen. He chinned the button and was released from his gold titanium prison. "You don't know what you're doing. You can't control these things, so they're still killing your own kind. You have to stop."

"You're lying, human!"

He could tell just from the way she was carrying herself. She wasn't physically capable in the slightest. Maybe some combat training in the time she had been on Genosha. Which likely wasn't long if that was the case. That was good news for him. The bad news was she still was controlling over nine twenty-foot-tall death machines and he was just a man. He didn't even have a gun. "I'm telling you, you don't want to make this mistake. It'll cost you your life."

"What? You'll kill me?" She swept a lock of her long red hair out of her face. It was then that he noticed that her left eye was cybernetic.

"No. I'm not here to kill anyone. I'm here to help. There are innocent people in danger and they need my help."

She snarled and balled up her fists. "You won't be helping anyone." She lunged and threw a punch.

It was so poor, it might as well have been telegraphed. Rhodey parried it easily and used her own momentum to send her sprawling to the ground. He didn't let up and kneed her in the side hard enough to make her yelp in pain. "I don't want to hurt you, kid."

He really wasn't trying to hurt her, and it showed by how slowly he was taking the fight. Because of his close-quarter combat training in basic training, he could have easily taken down an untrained fighter than was smaller than him and not thinking clearly. Even if she had powers, those couldn't have helped her at the moment.

"Good. Because I want to hurt you." She reached out to Vision, a soft red glow engulfing her hands. Seconds later, Vision rose into the air, facing first the mutant, then turning to face Rhodey. It was then that he saw that his eyes were glowing red. "Still don't take me seriously, human?"

"Aw, shit."

A massive beam of yellow light exploded out of the mind gem embedded in Vision's forehead and barely missed a dodging Rhodey. This didn't do any good, as Vision was charging toward him.

James Rhodes was just a man. His power was his superb intuition and his hyper-powered suit of armor. If the latter was taken away, he was able to get along just fine, as was shown when he helped Tony saved President Ellis three years ago. That was against normal people, not infinity gem empowered androids.

He was knocked to the ground hard and slid a few feet to a stop. Vision hovered menacingly a few feet away from his. There was an eerie glow emanating from his gem. "Vision, it's me, man. Colonel Rhodes."

Predictably, he didn't answer. However, he didn't attack him either. He just hovered in place, staring at him intently.

"Yeah, that's right. I'm your friend."

"Why are you just standing there?!" the mutant woman demanded. "Attack him!"

Rhodey noticed Bobbi running toward them out of the corner of his eye. "Don't listen to her, Vision. Fight it. You're stronger than this."

Vision's eye twitched as the red light started to flicker.

"What? No!" The mutant was about to exert her power to regain control when Bobbi shocked her with both staves. She screamed out in pain seconds before losing consciousness.

With her out, Vision quickly regained control over himself. Not only him, but the sentinels also returned to their original protocols.

" _I am sorry, Colonel. I was not in control of myself,"_ he said regrettably.

"Don't worry about it, Vision. Thanks for the save, Bobbi." He pressed the bracelet on his left wrist, summoning the pieces of his armor to assemble over him. The second his holographic HUD pinged into place, he saw that several mutants were in danger a block away. "No time for talk. We got work to do." With that, he rocketed into the sky, Vision with Bobbi close behind.

Luke, Danny and Peter were already there, but they were outnumbered five to three. "The cavalry has arrived!"

Rhodey fired several missiles at one of the sentinels to get his attention away from Danny, allowing him to land several chi enhanced strikes that rendered its legs useless. Luke charged in and knocked it flat on its face and laid several heavy punches into the back of its head into it was nothing but a pile of smashed up scrap.

That was one, but still four remained. Two had Bobbi surrounded in front and behind. She, strangely, didn't look concerned.

One of the sentinels fired a beam of cold that froze the air as it zipped toward her. She flipped out of the way, then rolled to her right to avoid a blast from the other one. "Don't worry, I got this guys." She reached into her belt and pulled out what looked like a bronze battery. She tossed it at one of the sentinels. When it stuck to its leg, it immediately drained its power core, rendering it a hollow mechanical shell. Not wasting any time, she removed it and clicked the button at the top.

"Eat this, asshole!" she yelled before throwing it at the second sentinel. The built up energy stolen from the other sentinel exploded, blowing a hole in its chest.

Three down, two to go.

Peter was dodging a pair of sentinels with ease, making them hit and damage each other. Danny leaped in and launched a frenzied volley of punches and kicks that tore through their chassis. Peter finished them off with a frenzy of his own topped off by him backflip kicking one's head off. "Phew, that's it, right?"

" _Yes, that was the last advanced sentinel,"_ Vision answered.

"Thank god, I hate those fucking things." Bobbi sheathed her staves and tapped her comm. "All done here, Cap. We're going to stay and make sure everyone is safe and sound."

 _=Good job, guys. Don't stay long, there's reports of more sentinel attacks.=_


	15. Interrogation

_**Interrogation**_

 **Avengers Facility**

 **7:45 PM**

In total, there were five different sentinel attacks across the US and two more internationally. Luke and his team, with timely assists from what X-Men were available, managed to repel each and every one of them with minimal casualties. Certainly far less than would have occurred had they not been there.

The reaction to their presence was split right down the middle. Some, both mutants and humans, were relieved and grateful to see the Avengers there. The rest were angry to see them, for different reasons – indignation at being saved by a team of humans or feelings of betrayal at seeing the Avengers helping the enemy. Divisive reactions were something they were used to. As long as they could do their jobs as quickly as possible, it didn't matter what anyone thought of them.

By the time the attacks were over, the team was exhausted. They returned to the Facility, dragging their feet and barely able to stand up straight. "I need a bed," Bobbi groaned.

Clint moved over to her and help her to a nearby chair. "You deserve one, babe. You guys were great out there."

"Thanks."

Rhodey handed over the lone non-Avenger – the mutant woman from San Francisco – over to Sam so he could place her in the Facility's holding cells until they were ready to interrogate her.

"Those new sentinels are no joke," Luke said. "I don't know how they do it, but they can copy all kinds of mutant powers."

"I heard Mandarin stole some of Mystique's blood and used that to create them," Monica said.

"Wouldn't surprise me. That guy is a total nutcase."

"Draining their power cores seems to be the quickest and easiest way to take them down," Bobbi noted. "I only have five more of those arc grenades Tony sent me. I don't know how long it'll take him to make and send more, but probably won't get here before there's another sentinel attack."

If push came to shove, Monica could likely do the same thing. Going that route ran the risk of her burning out before they were going to need her for the upcoming war on Genosha. "See if Tony has any more he can send over right now," Steve said to Bobbi. He then turned to Rhodey and said, "What did the prisoner have to say?"

"Nothing. We asked her if Magneto sent her to San Fran, but she's refusing to talk."

He sighed heavily. "We don't have time for this. Make her talk if necessary. She has to know something."

Rhodey started to head for the holding cells when Natasha jumped up from the sofa and stepped in front of him. "I'll handle this." She walked silently to the elevator, but waited until he was aboard before pressing the button for the sub-basement. "Any powers besides technopathy?"

"Not that I'm aware of. If she does have any, she didn't bother using them to help her escape." He tapped his chin thoughtfully. "We got her cuffed with one of those power suppressors, so it's a moot point anyway."

She nodded and removed her PDA from a pouch on her belt. "Michelle Gonzalez, aka Wireless. Level 3 technopath. Face scan doesn't place her within the Brotherhood, so she must be a new resident. It's just as we feared."

If Gonzalez was just a Genoshoan citizen, then there had to be many more like her – just regular people fighting for their freedom. Every move Magneto made resulted in them losing more and more ground in the war. The two sides hadn't even fought outside of a few skirmishes and they were already losing.

The elevator halted and opened its doors to allow them entrance to the sub-basement. The forked hallway led to the training faculties on the left and the holding cells and interrogation room on the right. They went to the right and found the mutant known as Wireless in the first cell. Sam was already questioning her, to no avail.

He let out a frustrated huff when he saw Rhodey and Natasha. "She's not talking."

"We'll see." She sidestepped him and stood in front of the cell. The redheaded Hispanic mutant was sitting on the bed that was situated against the wall, hands draped lazily between her knees. Her head was down, but there was a soft red glow emanating from her cybernetic eye. "Ms. Gonzalez."

Her head rose when her name was called. Anger permeated her features as she regarded the heroes. "My name is Wireless. Don't refer to me by my slave name!"

 _Christ, she's one of those._ Natasha resist an eye roll and instead folded her arms over her chest. "Fine. Wireless, we need you to tell us whatever Magneto told you."

Her flesh eye narrowed. "He hasn't told me anything. Not that I would tell you anyway."

Seemed that Magneto recognized the benefits of compartmentalization. "Fine. Why were you in San Francisco today?"

"My job."

"Which was?"

She didn't answer.

A beat passed before she repeated herself. "What was your assignment?"

Again, she didn't answer.

Sam glanced at Rhodey before touching her elbow. "We're wasting time. She won't talk."

"She knows something. And I'm not leaving until she tells me everything." She could read the woman like a book. She was hiding something and wasn't answering a simple question out of fear of accidently letting something slip. It was the typical go-to move for a civilian in possession of important, possibly dangerous information.

She took a step closer to the cell, then another until she was only a few inches from the hard light screen serving as a transparent door. "Answer me."

Wireless scowled at the floor, but continued her silence.

"We're wasting time, Nat," Sam repeated.

"A lot of people are going to die every day unless we can put a stop to this war. I need you to tell me whatever it is that you know, no matter how unimportant you think it is. If you do, I promise we'll protect you from whatever backlash you're afraid of."

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Carol and Scott rounding the corner and walking toward them. She subtly gestured for them to stop; too many people crowding around the cell and the mutant would clam up for good.

Rhodey and Sam got the message and took their leave, leaving Natasha alone with Wireless.

"One of my teammates told me that you were controlling the sentinels that were killing everyone. Are you not completely in control of your powers?"

It was half a minute before she answered. "No. It's hard to control that many machines at once."

"Mutants died, just like humans did. That wasn't part of the plan, was it?"

"No." Her voice was tight with emotion.

"But killing the humans was, wasn't it?"

She nodded.

"You know that the MRD will kill even more mutants when they find out what happened. Which will be soon. We can protect them if you tell us why Magneto sent you to San Fran. Because you weren't there to protect your people. If so, a lot less people would have died."

Her lips quivered violently as tears began to fill the brim of her eyelids. "I… I was there as a distraction."

"To distract from what?"

"To draw your attention away from the Oscorp warehouse that was in the city. Magneto wanted more gas canisters."

"For?"

She hesitated for a very long time before sinking her head into her chest.

"For?" she asked more forcefully.

"For the neurotoxin he developed when the humans attacked Genosha. He has enough to cover the entire island."

That much would kill everyone on the island that didn't have enhanced durability or some kind of healing ability. "That would kill everyone. Himself included."

"It only affects humans."

Of course it did. "Thank you." With one final nod, she left and went to where the others were huddled together at the end of the hall. "Magneto's developed a neurotoxin that will only kill humans. He has enough to cover the island, but needed gas canisters from an Oscorp warehouse to finish preparing, I guess."

"He's not playing anymore," Sam stated with a sharp curse. "We have to tell the President and tell her not to send in the military."

"I agree, but it'll mostly be the MRD and sentinels doing the bulk of the assault on Genosha, though, right?" Carol asked.

"That toxin is meant for us," Rhodey said. "The military, MRD and sentinels don't stand much of a chance against the mutants Magneto has backing him up. He already saw how we destroyed the advanced sentinels. The only problem he would have is us. Some of us would survive that kind of attack, but a lot of us won't. After that, it'll be a matter of attrition and if those of us who survive will be able to cope."

People like Carol, Jen, Vision, Steve, Luke, and maybe Peter would likely survive. Everyone else was going to be killed.

They stepped back into the elevator and headed up to the ground floor to inform the others. "If you guys had've listened to me, you'd be dead right now."

The other three turned to see Carol's hands roughly carding through her hair. "You couldn't have known," Rhodey tried to reassure her.

"But—"

"No, she's right," Natasha said. "If we had gone over there, over two-thirds of us would be dead right now. But we didn't listen to her, so this is a moot point. There's no point in beating yourself up over a mistake that never happened."

Carol opened her mouth to argue, but snapped it close. "Yeah. You're right."

"I know."

The doors opened and the four walked about and made a beeline for Steve. "Cap, Magneto has a powerful neurotoxin on Genosha with our names on it," Sam stated.

"And the mutant commandeered the sentinel fleet as a distraction so some of his people could steal some gas canisters from a nearby Oscorp lab," Rhodey continued.

Steve took it all in while shaking his head. "If it's not one thing, it's another. Do we know what kind of neurotoxin it is?"

"No," Natasha answered. "But it wouldn't surprise me if it was a synthetic."

"It won't be any issue clearing that shit up before we get there," Luke said. "All Speedy needs to do is do a sweep of the island before anyone even knows he's there."

Having Pietro gather up the gas canisters and dispose of them before they touched down on Genosha was the best and fastest way to deal with the toxin. Certainly better than just trying to luck it out. "Good idea."

"We should warn the government, just in case," Rhodey said. "Even if Quicksilver does a sweep ahead of us, he may miss some, depending on how well hidden they are. Since we're talking about guerrilla warfare, I'd wager that they're very well hidden."

Pietro stood and headed for the door. "There's only one way to know for certain." With that, he disappeared, only a sudden gust of wind and a transparent afterimage giving evidence to his departure.

It wouldn't take him long to do several sweeps of the island, so Steve and Rhodey walked up the stairs to the video conference screen so they could contact the President. "We'd better call Coulson also, so he can have his people come up with some kind of antidote."

"A one-size-fits-all serum?"

Steve nodded.

"Simmons is pretty bright, but I don't know if she can come up with something strong enough to affect metahumans on short notice."

"I'll get Bobbi on it, also." Vision was the only other person in the conference room. He seemed to be preoccupied with something on a holographic map. "Vision, what's wrong?"

" _Captain, I have noticed something strange in the pattern of the sentinel attacks today. Besides San Francisco, all of the cities attacked had a very small mutant population – less than one hundred. If the Mutant Response Division wanted to make a statement to Magneto, would it not stand to reason to attack areas with a large mutant presence, such as New York?"_

That made sense, so they both nodded.

" _I thought the same, so I looked further into each attack. Every time, there were more human casualties than mutant. This goes contrary to the sentinel program's mission statement, which is to protect the human race at any cost. That would, obviously, include avoiding any and all human casualties. And yet, a combined two hundred humans perished today. A number that would undoubtedly be much more significant if not for our efforts today."_

Steve rubbed his chin and glanced at Rhodey. The mutant in their custody, who they were going to hand over to SHIELD, was controlling the sentinels in San Francisco. Could Magneto have had some kind of spy in the sentinel control room that had somehow changed the sentinels' protocols for the later attacks? It wouldn't have surprised him, but he couldn't figure out why.

The most likely choice was Mystique. With her shape-shifting ability, she could be anyone anytime anywhere.

They would never know for certain until Magneto said something. Anything other than that was pointless speculation that would only distract them from the task at hand. "Look into it further while we still have some time, Vision."

The android nodded and returned to the holographic projection.

Coulson's face appeared on the screen after Steve dialed the number for Zephyr One, SHIELD's mobile command base. _"Captain, Colonel. I hope it's good news."_

"Well, I hate to disappoint you, Phil."

" _I know, Cap. What's the situation?"_

It was Rhodey who answered. "Magneto has developed a neurotoxin that we suspect he plans on using on us when we try to put a stop to him. At least, I hope that's what he plans on using it for."

Knowing him, there was no telling. "Regardless of who he plans on using it on, can we depend on you to have some kind of antidote ready?"

It was several moments before Coulson answered. _"I suppose. Not sure how much we'll be able to make on such short notice, but we'll try. Do you know what kind of toxin it is?"_

To that, they could only shrug.

" _Oh boy,"_ he sighed. _"Okay, we'll see what we can do."_ Before he could end the video call, he looked up from the screen. Rhodey and Steve could hear May talking to him in the background. _"You're sure?"_ he asked. She said that she was. He grimaced, then turned his attention back to the screen. _"Looks like we won't have the time. The MRD just touched down on Genosha. Hundreds of them. Dozens of sentinels, too."_

"Damn it. I thought we'd have a little more time. Jocasta, assemble the Genosha team. We ship out in ten."

" _Yes, Captain."_

"Steve, those guys won't last ten minutes. Not with all the powers the mutants are working with _and_ the neurotoxin," Rhodey said.

"The sentinels will. They'll hold the line until we can get there" Especially if they were the advanced models.

" _We'll send as many as we can afford, but we're still stretched pretty thin,"_ Coulson said. _"What I wouldn't give for one of those Insight carriers."_

Steve allowed himself a wry smile. "Thanks, Phil. We appreciate any help you can send."

Before he could respond, he looked off-screen again.

" _Coulson, the Damocles is ready to dock,"_ Daisy said.

He nodded, then turned back to the screen. _"I have a meeting to attend, so I'll end it here. Good luck."_

Steve clicked off the screen and immediately headed for the hangar bay.

Along the way, Wanda caught up to them. There was a pensive, concerned frown etched on her face. "It's starting, isn't it?" she more stated than asked.

He nodded.

"I… saw this."

He and Rhodey both frowned and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

"I never told you about the vision I suffered when we were fighting Ultron, did I?" They shook their heads. "I saw the X-Men and Brotherhood fighting side by side against us. I saw that countless people on both sides lost their lives. I saw…" Her voice trailed off.

"What else did you see?"

"I saw that we lose this war."

Steve sighed. "Luckily, it was just a hallucination."

"It wasn't a hallucination. It was a premonition. Everything else I saw has come to pass."

"You really don't think the X-Men would join up with the Brotherhood, right?" Rhodey asked. "They hate each other, last I checked."

"It's happened before," she corrected. "And it will happen again."

She was so sure that what she had seen in her vision last year would come true. A lot of it already had. A lot of people had died; but then, that was with every war. And with how Dr. Strange explained how time operated – that it was constantly shifting and fluidly moving to ensure that certain events transpired – he wasn't so sure that she was wrong.

He, of course, kept that to himself. He needed to stay optimistic, if only for his own sanity. "Luckily, the future isn't set in stone."

Her lips pursed in thought. "I hope you're right."

She didn't hope he was right as much as he did.


	16. M-Day

_**M-Day**_

 **Genosha**

The MRD knew the mutants' power far exceeded their own, and they realized that they're only chance was to throw everything they had at them before they could get those powers started up. Just ten minutes prior to the assault on Genosha, several fighter jets strafed over the island and dropped dozens of bombs filled with the mutant cure.

Pietro was the first to notice the bombs dropping and rushed to save as many people as he could. He managed to move over two thousand mutants to Africa before the first bomb hit. After that, there was nothing he could do without putting himself at risk of losing his powers.

* * *

When Pietro reported in from Genosha, the quinjet carrying the Genosha Team had already taken off and was flying over the Atlantic Ocean at subsonic speeds. Carol was in the pilot's seat, as usual, with Clint as her copilot. Steve was in the back reiterating the team on their assignment. Their job was to protect any innocent mutants and arrest Magneto and his followers. They were, in no way, to involve themselves in the war beyond that.

It was imperative that they were seen as nothing more than the neutral peacekeeping force. As unlikely as the two warring sides were to see them as such, it was important for the people they were protecting to.

 _=I got as many as were outside to safety, Rogers, but there's nothing I can do about the gas,=_ Pietro reported in.

That was as much as Steve could have hoped for. He wasn't going to lose one of his most valuable members when there was another just as capable of doing the same job with the risk of losing her powers. "Fall back to a safe position until I give the word, Quicksilver."

 _=Roger.=_

Nodding to himself, he turned to the lone person who wasn't a member of Genosha Team. "Spectrum, how quickly can you generate a tornado?"

It took a moment to think. "If I fly at multi-mach speeds… a few seconds, I guess."

"Do it. Get the gas away from the island and send it somewhere else if you can."

She nodded and shifted into her light form, then flew through the hatch before it opened more than a crack. A thin stream of white light was left in her wake as she streaked toward the island.

* * *

MRD soldiers touched down on the island, weapons drawn and trained in front of them. Sentinels soared toward Magneto's palace from above. They had no powers to copy, as there weren't any mutants outside. There had been just minutes earlier, but they all vanished within a few seconds of the bombs being dropped. "No mutants immediately in sight. Moving further inland."

The sentinels moved ahead of them, scanning under the streets for any hidden mutants. There weren't any, but it appeared that they were all congregated in the city up ahead. That, they felt, made them all easier targets. The squad leader called for a bombing run on the city. Before he could get a response, a streak of light appeared out of nowhere and began circling around the island far faster than anyone could follow.

The wind picked up at a frightening pace. Those that weren't brace – which was practically all of them – were knocked to the ground and nearly sucked into the vortex that had encumbered the entire island. "What's happening?!"

"Ahhh!"

"Help!"

The MRD soldiers were lifted off the ground by the vortex, sucked skyward along with the sentinels and anything else that wasn't fastened to the ground. The suction was so powerful that entire trees were uprooted. Also, the gaseous mutant cure that had settled near the ground like an ominous fog was quickly sucked up and sent into the atmosphere, where it dissipated harmlessly.

Once it was all gone, the massive tornado suddenly stopped, and the white streaked disappeared over the horizon. It was gone as quickly as it arrived.

It took several moments before the operatives were able to collect themselves. "What they hell was that? One of the muties?"

"Don't know. It's gone now, so let's keep moving."

* * *

Monica reappeared in the quinjet and stumbled to the floor. "Ugh… so dizzy."

"Good job, Spectrum."

She nodded and flashed a thumbs up. "If that's all, I better get back to the Facility."

Steve nodded. "Stay ready, in case we need you guys over here."

The jet was five minutes out from Genosha. By the time they got there, the fighting would likely have already started, if only just. That meant there were going to be hundreds for people in the same area.

"I figure it'll be hell trying to maneuver around all the bodies that'll be in the same area," Janet said, as if reading his mind. "It's going to be crazy down there."

He nodded in agreement. "Our fliers can stay above the fray, so it's best if they clear a path for those of us stuck on the ground."

"That may not be necessary," Wanda said. "I know a secret way into the palace, one that Magneto likes to keep to himself, in case he needs to make a quick escape. If the area around that entrance is clear, we can get in through there without trouble."

"Well, that makes things—"

"Don't say it!" Clint shouted from the cockpit.

"Don't say what?"

"Cap, don't you know you're not supposed to say anything is easy?" Jen asked incredulously. "Something terrible _always_ happens right after."

He had never heard that before, but the last thing he wanted to do was jinx it. "Okay, fine. Wanda's way will make things go more quickly."

Sam pulled out a duffle bag and pulled out several gas masks, which he began to distribute to the others. "I picked these up from the supply room before we left. Just in case Pietro missed any toxin."

Janet took her mask and raised an eyebrow. "Could you not find something more hideous, Samuel?"

He rolled his eyes. "Sorry, my bedazzler broke."

"Thanks, Sam," Steve said.

"Here we are, guys," Carol announced from the cockpit. "All's quiet down there."

Wanda stepped up to point out the best place to land. Before she could open her mouth, though, every door leading inside the palace burst open, allowing a tidal wave of mutants to charge outside. Opposite them, from the coast, the MRD operatives and sentinels charged to meet them head on.

The two sides rumbled toward each other at full speed, weapons drawn and powers flared.

They collided with impossible ferocity and coalesced into one massive orgy of incoherent violence and mayhem. The entire island descended into absolute, unadulterated chaos.

"My God."

"I don't see Magneto or any of his people anywhere, Cap," Clint reported.

"In chess, the pawns go first," Wanda said. "He won't show up until much later." Down below, she saw a familiar blue streak zipping through the insanity toward a sector of the island that was devoid of life. "There. Land the jet by that dock over there."

Carol nodded and activated the cloaking device before descending past the madness and toward the docks on the eastern coast. It seemed that Wanda and Pietro both had the same idea. The team climbed out once she powered the jet down and opened the hatch.

"Are you okay, Pietro?" Wanda asked.

"Yes, I'm fine."

The team walked down not the paved path leading to the city, but down a dirt path leading down the middle of a forest on the outskirts of the island. It was quiet in the immediate area, but the sounds of the war could be clearly heard and seen from miles away. The ground actually shook from the some of the explosions that were going off. "They're going to tear each other apart," Janet exclaimed.

"Yeah. I wish they would just talk it out," Sam said. "Guess time for talk has been over."

"Avengers!" A pair of mutants, one purple with orange tentacle-like appendages sticking out of her head and the other blue with red spikes jutting out of his back, jumped out of the forest and landed in front of them. "Magneto told us to wait here, since he knew you would be showing up and would come this way."

"Get out of our way," Steve said firmly. "We don't want to hurt you, but we aren't leaving without Magneto."

"Fine. Then die, human!" The blue one charged forward, then leaped forward and tucked himself into a ball. His spikes pointed outward, he threatened to skewer Steve if he landed on him.

He didn't. Wanda caught him in a red bubble, allowing Janet to zap him unconscious. He was then thrown back at the purple mutant, who nimbly dove out of the way.

Carol casually blasted her away, leaving her in a small crater with smoke billowing off her unmoving body. "He keeps sending in small fries. It's actually kind of insulting."

"He wants to tire us out so he and the others will have an easier time defeating us," Pietro explained.

"Fat chance."

"How far is the secret passage from here?" Steve asked.

"Not very far," he answered. "Right over that hill up ahead."

The team continued to quickly, but cautiously progress down the path. Any further ambushes – and there were several – were quickly rebuffed by the more powerful members.

From the sounds of it, the war raging on the opposite side of the island was intensifying. Fighter jets roared overhead, dropping bombs on nearby cities. Those bombs undoubtedly carried the mutant cure, which was why they were dropped right were human soldiers were located.

Nearly all the sentinels that had been present at the beginning were still there. That only meant that the number of mutants fighting had diminished greatly. They were losing the war. "How's the fighting coming?"

News helicopters were recording the action from a safe distance above, out of the way of the incoming fighter jets and any fliers. _=Terrible,=_ Bobbi answered from the Facility. _=The sentinels are kicking everyone's ass.=_

It was as he feared. The mutant side wasn't going to hold out much longer, which meant that Magneto was going to get involved, if he wasn't already. "That's what I thought. Let's get a move on!" They sprinted up the hill, then down the other side. There were six mutants guarding what looked like the entrance to a large drainage pipe.

Before they noticed them, four of them were taken down by four of Clint's stun arrows, and the last two taken out by a pair of Widow's Bite shocks from Natasha.

Wanda bent the bars enough so they could get through. Once everyone was inside, she bent the bars back to their natural place.

The pipe was wide enough for them to move comfortably; though, comfortably was a relative term. It was dank, dark, and musty; and it smelled of feces and raw sewage. Janet gagged. "It smells so bad in here!"

"Aren't you glad I gave you that hideous gas mask now?" Sam chirped, earning a withering glare.

"It won't be much longer," Pietro said. "And there aren't too many places to hide, so we shouldn't expect any ambushes."

No sooner had he said that, a pair of spikes nearly impaled him.

Calisto stood in their path, flanked by two other mutants.

"You were saying," Clint said, deadpan.

"You will go no further, humans," Calisto hissed.

"Out of the way, Calisto," Pietro said. "We don't have time for your nonsense."

"Shut up, traitor! Your opinion is invalid because you stink of their homo sapien taint!"

"Wow. Someone's been drinking bucket-head's Kool-Aid." Clint nocked an arrow and shot it at the mutant to her left.

He turned to stone, causing the arrow to bounce harmlessly off his forehead. The three mutants charged forward, murderous intent permeating from their every pore.

The pipe was large enough for the team to walk comfortably, but it wasn't large enough for them to fight without risking friendly fire. They couldn't spread out enough to let everyone have the room to operate as well as they needed to. Calisto wasn't one to be trifled with.

Wanda threw up a shield to block the volley of spikes that were ejected from her arms and shoulders.

Calisto bounced off the walls and then the ceiling to dive down on top of the team.

Steve swatted her away with his shield, but not before being stabbed through the leg with a spike. He grunted in pain and dropped to a knee. Doing so actually stopped him from taking an air blade to the face.

Clint fired three more arrows, but failed to even leave a mark on the stony mutant. "Ha!" he cackled. "Your weapons won't do you any good, human."

"What about my fist?" Jen leaped over the crowd to tackle him to the floor. Carol and Janet were right behind her to engage the anemokinetic.

"Won't do you any good, either." He ducked under a right hook and landed a solid punch right in her abdomen. She didn't budge an inch. "Huh?" He swung again, as hard as he could.

She casually lifted her fist to block. His fist shattered into pieces against her wrist. "Whoops. My bad." Equally as casually, she punched him into and through the wall. He was unconscious and missing a piece of his lower jaw.

Carol and Janet, however, weren't having as easy a time. The anemokinetic had turned into living air, causing their blasts to pass right through her. Nothing they threw at her had any affect; all they were doing was tiring themselves out.

"Die, humans!" the airy mutant drew her hands back.

The air rushed out of the Avengers' lungs. They wheezed for air, but the mutant prevented any from being inhaled.

Steve's lungs burned like they were being boiled from the inside. He slammed his fist against the floor, trying to fight through it. It took every ounce of his willpower to not pass out, but even that was fading away by the second like the twinkling stars at the burgeoning dawn. Sam, Natasha, and Clint had already passed out. Janet had dropped out of the sky with a soft thud, a fly after having breathed in a cloud of bug spray. Jen was woozy on her feet for a scant few seconds before dropping to her knees. Her skin was slowly changing from green to white.

"Nngh." Wanda rose a shaky hand and fired a hex bolt. The bolt passed through the intangible airy mutant, but the chaotic properties held within affected her all the same.

She screamed as the random effect of Wanda's magic caused her to explode in a refreshing gust of wind. Her scream echoed through the pipe before fading into silence.

The Avengers sucked into gratuitous amounts of air.

Calisto was wide-eyed at the loss of her two brethren. "Stoneback! Vortex!"

Carol's fist tagged her face, shattering her jaw into dust and sending her sprawling to the ground. "Fuck… these… guys…."

Steve couldn't say anything without needing to gulp in deep breathes to keep from getting lightheaded. "Everyone… okay?"

Headed nodded slowly.

"Alright. Let's just… let's just wait a few minutes."

He didn't want to think they had bitten off more than they could chew, but he was starting to feel that they had underestimated the mutants and not only the strength of their powers, but the variety. They were completely ill-prepared for someone that could control the very air they breathed. What hope did they have against Magneto, who could give them all strokes or just rip the iron out of their bloodstreams?

Jen, still green, was the first to her feet, followed by Carol and Steve. "Ugh, never want to do that again."

Slowly, the other Avengers rose to their feet. Clint, Sam, and Natasha were last and the most out of it, but they were all okay. "If you can walk, keep going. We don't have any more time to waste," Steve said.

They nodded and slowly trudged down the sewage drain. Fortunately for them, they didn't encounter any more ambushes.

"Here it is," Wanda said. She bent the bars to let them pass through. There was a short staircase leading up to a set of double doors. "Those doors lead directly to the back of Magneto's palace. From there, it's a straight shot to his throne room."

Steve nodded and led the way up the stair. "We'll need to take him out quickly. I want Pietro and Wanda to take point, with Janet, Carol and Jen backing them up. Clint, Natasha, Sam and myself will hang back and handle the other members of the Brotherhood."

Without thinking, he pushed open the double doors and stepped inside. The hallway was brightly lit. It was also devoid of the regalia that one would think to find in a royal palace. The most regal things present were the red silk woven rug leading from the staircase to the double doors leading to Magneto's throne room, and the ornately decorated pillars – two dozen of them – lined at either side of the rug. The war outside could be heard easily. From the sound of it, the mutants were still putting up a hellacious fight.

The doors suddenly slammed closed when the last person stepped through.

The mutants that had ambushed them before, Calisto and her cohorts, were nothing but small-fries. Outside of almost asphyxiating, they had very little trouble. As Carol pointed out, Magneto was insulting him.

Not this time.

The mutants waiting for them were anything but small-fries.

Cyclops. Jean Grey. Wolverine. Jubilee. Beast. Rogue. Gambit. Shadowcat.

The X-Men.

"Avengers. We've been waiting for you."


	17. A v X

_**A v X**_

 **Magneto's Palace – Genosha**

The Avengers were only two hundred feet away from Magneto. They had infiltrated his palace with only some resistance. They were close, yet, they had reached a mountain sized obstacle. The X-Men, one of the best hero teams on the planet, stood in their way.

Steve couldn't stop his face from dropping. Wanda told him before they left that the X-Men would be fighting alongside the Brotherhood, but he didn't want to believe her. Now, confirmation was staring him right in the face. "Scott, what are you doing?"

Cyclops didn't answer. His face told the tale; simmering anger and perhaps even feelings of betrayal.

It was then that Steve realized what was happening. He glanced at Jen – and incidentally, Janet, as she was standing next to her; he could see the guilt building up in their expressions and their body language. His eyes cut back to Cyclops, who was then holding what looked like six X-badges. He tossed them down at Steve's feet.

Steve looked down and saw names on all six badges. They were the names of the six X-Men who were killed by the advanced sentinels. Overwhelming guilt overtook him. His jaw tightened in an effort to keep himself under control.

"We both know what this is about," Cyclops finally answered.

"Scott—"

" _Don't_. Save your excuses. Erik told us the truth, how you refused to tell us about those new sentinels and how they could copy mutant powers." His face was calm, but it was clear that the younger members were barely keeping their wits about them. "We lost six of us because of you."

That was he was afraid of. He knew that Magneto knew that and that all he needed to do was tell them and they would join his side. He let his optimism cloud his judgment. _I should have known this would happen._ "Had I known sooner, I would have said something," he said honestly. "But I didn't."

"But you two knew," Jean said to Janet and Jen. "What's your excuse?"

He glanced at them to find their heads lowered. "We…we didn't think they'd make more," Janet said softly, like a small child explaining something to her angry father.

"Yeah. We just assumed that they wouldn't use the Mandarin's designs, since… you know, he's evil," Jen followed.

"Regardless of your reasons," Storm said brusquely, "six of my friends are dead. That falls on your heads and yours alone."

They opened their mouths to retort, but nothing came out. There wasn't anything either of them could say further to excuse their inaction. A simple phone call would have saved six lives and prevented all this from happening. Instead, they were going to have to fight their way past the X-Men to get to Magneto. Another calculated victory for him.

"I'm sorry. I really am," he said genuinely. "But, I can't let you stop us. Magneto has to be stopped. We both know this."

Scott didn't reply right away, but touched the side of his visor. "I was hoping you'd say that." A wide beam of red energy shot out of his visor and washed over the Avengers, knocking most of them to the floor.

"Don't let them stop us!" Wanda thrust her hands forward, sending the X-Men flying toward the adjacent walls to let her team recover and give them a clear path to Magneto.

Pietro was there first, an unseen streak that was passed the X-Men before they even knew he was back on his feet. "There's a force field blocking the door."

"Ya ain't getting passed us that easy, bub!" Logan lunged at him, claws extended.

Pietro dodged him with ease. "You're wasting my time, furball."

Logan snarled and kept trying to slash him.

Pietro dodged every time, with ease. If there was one thing he and Wanda knew, it was fighting the X-Men. He knew their tendencies. He knew their strengths and their weaknesses. "You don't understand what's at play here. Magneto wins, we all lose." He stepped back, only for his feet to sink into the floor. "Gah!" Trapped at the knees, he fell back and only barely dodged the adamantium claws diving down to impale him.

"Ain't got nothing to do with Erik, Twinkletoes," Logan snarled. Shadowcat phased Pietro's arms into the floor also so he couldn't escape. "We'll deal with him after we're finished with you punks." Logan drew his fist back. The glint of the light reflecting off his razor sharp claws sent a chill down Pietro's spine.

"I don't think so." Two hex bolts struck Kitty and Logan, setting the latter on fire and causing the former's powers to flare out of control and send her sinking into the floor. "Leave my brother alone."

Jean stepped forward and pushed Wanda back into one of the pillars.

If there was any X-Man worthy of the full attention of the entire team, it was her. With her vast telepathic abilities and telekinesis, she could take on the entire team, both of them, by herself. More often than not, she would win. Added in the fact that the Avengers weren't really trained to handle powerful psychics – Wanda didn't really care to use her own mental manipulation abilities – and they only stood at a disadvantage.

Wanda stood slowly, allowing her the time to assess the situation. Avenger and X-Man were fighting in all corners of the spacious hallway. Some were fighting one-on-one, such as Carol and Rogue. Others were fighting together, such as Clint and Natasha vs Remy and Jubilee. From her experience with the Brotherhood – as loathe as she was to draw on it these days – she knew that Jean could be overwhelmed if exposed to too many stimuli at once. Of course, doing so risked the Phoenix being unleashed, if indeed the woman was still plagued by that monstrous entity. She didn't know, and didn't want to risk it.

The two women, two of the more powerful people in the fight, stared each other down. For years, they faced off exclusively. That was years ago. Now, again.

 _It doesn't matter what you do,_ Jean's voice projected inside Wanda's head, _You won't win._

"Get out of my head," she snarled. A hex bolt formed in her hand.

Jean continued to stare passively at her. _You haven't changed. You're still as evil today as you were back then._

Suddenly, all of the actions Wanda committed when she was with the Brotherhood flashed before her mind. One by one, like a slideshow. She tried to fight it, to force her mind to think of something else, but Jean was too strong.

She fell to her knees and clutched at her head. "Get out of my head!"

"Wanda!" Pietro struggled to free himself, but he was trapped.

 _You're the reason Kurt is dead. You're why my friends are in a grave instead of here with me. You are! You're a murderer, Wanda Maximoff, and so are the rest of the Avengers._ Jean turned her attention to the rest of the Avengers. _You're all murderers. You're all murderers. You're all murderers. You're all murderers. You're all murderers. You're all murderers. You're all murderers_ The charge repeated itself in their heads like an echo projected over a loud speaker. It was all they heard, all they could think about.

Some tried to fight it, and failed. Others tried to ignore it and keep fighting. This resulted in them only being a scant fraction as effect as they normally were. Jean's psychic assault had quickly turned the tide of the battle to her team's favor.

"I… didn't mean… I'm sorry," Jen mumbled through gritted teeth. She fell to her knees, hands clenched around her head.

 _You knew and you let them die anyway._

"I said I'm sorry!" The telepathic onslaught didn't cease, unsurprisingly, with an apology. Even one as sincere as what She-Hulk just offered. That made her angry. That made her very angry.

 _You let them die._

"Shut up!"

 _You let them die!_

" **SHUT UP!"** Her massive fists slammed into the floor with catastrophic force. The entire palace and a mile and a half radius outside, shook as though an 8.5 level earthquake had just rumbled through the entire island. Pieces of the ceiling crumbled and rained down on them, nearly crushing some of them when they crashed to the floor. Several pillars fell to the ground like dominoes.

It was more than enough to knock Jean off-balance and shatter her concentration.

The psychic assault ceased. Wanda fired the hex bolt she had charged a minute earlier. It struck true and crippled Jean with unrelenting chaotically tinge electricity. It was just enough for Steve to launch his shield at her and strike her in the side of the head to knock her out.

"Jean!" Just before Scott fired an optic blast, Steve caught his shield and deflected the beam, not at Scott, but at Beast. He hurled it again and hit Scott in the chest. It ricocheted off of him and clipped Gambit in the ankle just as he was twisting around to hit Clint in the face with his staff.

Steve caught the shield just in time to watch Scott rise to his feet. The two leaders squared off amidst the renewed chaos. Both of them were tactical geniuses. Both of them were experienced fighters. Both of them were determined to claim victory. Together, Magneto's side wouldn't have stood a chance. Together, there wouldn't have been a single obstacle that their combined strategic know-how wouldn't have been able to work around.

Instead, they stood on opposite sides of the battle, staring eye to eye – well, eye to visor – unflinchingly.

Scott's optic blasts and mastery of angles and the art of the ricochet gave him a decided advantage. Not to say that Steve's offensive use of his shield, as well as _his_ mastery of angles and ricochets weren't equal. But his shield was his only defense against the optic blasts, so he had to pick and choose when to counterattack. His best bet was to get in close. He would rather take his chances in hand to hand combat with a highly trained combatant. With his superior physical abilities, he could overwhelm Scott easily.

With that in mind, he surged toward him, shield up to block the incoming optic blast. It was so powerful, it actually almost halted his charge. He had heard rumors that Cyclops could punch a hole through a mountain at full tilt; he believed them.

Steve pumped his piston-like legs to power through the blast, then shoved his shield into Scott's chest to knock him off balance. The blast ceased, allowing him to throw a pair of powerful punches that were parried.

Scott answered by ducking down and sweeping Steve's legs from under him. The supersoldier rolled to his feet and sprung toward him like a coiled viper. The shield smashed into him, knocking him over, but he was able to use that momentum to tuck his legs under him and propel him away.

Steve rolled to his knee and flung his shield.

It was dodged and Scott countered by firing blast after blast to keep Steve at bay. It worked; he didn't actually hit Steve, as he was fast enough to dodge based on the angle of his visor, but he couldn't proceed any further without risking getting hit.

He didn't seem to agitated by that, and Scott knew why. "Watch the rebound." Scott dipped to the side to allow the rebounding shield to pass by him harmlessly. As it passed, he shot a blast off its reflective surface and into Natasha. It struck her in the back, allowing Storm to sweep her up in a miniature tornado.

Steve growled and charged forward again. Once again, Scott fired another optic blast to keep him at bay. This time, though, he was ready. He leaped up, using his launching foot to spin himself around so that the shield was in the right position to reflect the blast away from him and into Storm's torso.

She was driven back into the wall hard, breaking her concentration and causing the tornado to dissipate.

The two leaders met in a flurry of well-placed punches and kicks. None of the blows actually struck true, as both men were able to either parry or outright dodge each one. It had been a long time since Steve had fought anyone as capable in a fight as he was, outside of sparring sessions with his teammates. Zemo, actually, was the last person.

This time was different. Scott wasn't a villain. He was a hero, a great one. Unfortunate circumstances led to them ending up on opposite sides of the proverbial line in the sand.

The ground shook briefly, and the two men had to separate to avoid Rogue, who had just been punched into their area by an irate Carol.

"Gracious," the southern belle sighed to herself.

Steve flung his shield into her torso, but she didn't even budge.

Scott deflected a blast off the rebounding shield and into Carol, who was passing by above them to get to Rogue. She, to his surprise, absorbed the energy.

"Thanks," she said snidely before punching Rogue in the side of the head. And again. And again and again and again and again. Seven times before lifting her into the air and punching her out of the palace.

Rogue landed in the midst of the raging war.

Carol watched her slowly rise to her feet with a mixture of anger and hatred. She had been waiting for this moment for so long. Every day, when a new memory returned spontaneously, she was instantly reminded of what Rogue had done to her. She took her life away…

* * *

 _ **Boston, Massachusetts – One Year Ago**_

 _Easter had come and gone for the Danvers family. Steve had given Carol a week off so she could reconnect with her family after being dead for the past year and a half. Luckily, Carol had called her mother right after Ultron was defeated, so the reuniting was nothing but a joyous occasion. And it remained a joyous occasion, outside of her father insisting that she quit being a superhero and marry Captain America as soon as possible. Outside of that, it was great to see her family again._

 _It was right then that it occurred to her just how lucky she was. She, literally, was one of three people on the Avengers to have living parents and siblings. Dead parents were an unwritten requirement for Avengers membership, it seemed._

 _It was the last night of her vacation and she was out drinking with some old friends. Everything was going well until she noticed something amiss. She noticed two women – one with brown hair with peculiar white streaks in the front, and the other redheaded in black leather – running down the sidewalk and into a dark alleyway. Normally, she wouldn't have paid it any mind; but as a superhero, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong._

 _Excusing her sudden departure as a stomachache, she sprinted into the alleyway after them. The redheaded woman she saw running down the street was actually none other than the mutant terrorist Mystique. "Stop, Mystique!" Photonic light flashed around Carol, shifting the molecules of her clothing around into her Ms. Marvel uniform._

" _Mama!" the brown-haired girl exclaimed with a thick southern accent._

" _Ms. Marvel! You can't stop us!" Mystique pulled out a heavy handgun and opened fire. The bullets pinged harmlessly off Carol's chest, but the gunshots terrified nearby passersby._

 _Their frightened screams distracted Carol long enough for Mystique and the girl to get a head start. Carol gave chase and tapped her comm to alert the other Avengers. "Ms. Marvel to Avengers Facility. I've made contact with Mystique and an unknown female. Am in pursuit."_

 _=Roger that, Ms. Marvel. Do you need backup?=_ _Black Widow replied._

" _No, I got this. But send a bus to collect Mystique when I apprehend her."_

 _=Roger that. Good luck.=_

 _Mystique wasn't as fast on the ground as Carol was in the air, so the latter caught up to her quickly and rammed into her from behind. "Hands up, Mystique! You're under arrest."_

 _The mutant woman slowly struggled to her feet. "No… Rogue, help me!"_

" _Rogue?" Suddenly, the brown-haired girl leaped in from out of nowhere and grabbed her face from behind. Normally, Carol, in possession of vast strength, would have merely thrown the girl off of her and gone on about her business. This time, however, was different. This girl was a mutant, whose power worked through body contact. Carol could feel herself getting weaker by the second. "Wha—what are… you doing?!"_

" _Mama, something's wrong. I can't let go," Rogue said to Mystique. She sounded frightened and confused. "I can't let go!"_

" _Don't let go, Rogue. Drain everything from her."_

 _Carol wanted to scream, but only managed a soft groan. Her powers were waning, and she could feel herself losing consciousness. Out of instinct, she started to fight, but was too weak to throw Rogue off like she could have seconds earlier. In one final fit of sudden strength, she flew into the air, hoping to throw Rogue off that way. It didn't work, and her powers and strength gave out._

 _She fell to the ground and landed with a loud thud. Her last image before passing out was Mystique's grinning face staring down at her, and Rogue._

 _Carol wouldn't regain consciousness until twelve days later. When she awoke, she realized that she couldn't remember anything. She didn't know where she was, she didn't know who she was, and she didn't know who any of the people standing around her were._

" _Carol, sweetie? How are you feeling?" one of the women in the room asked._

 _Carol looked at her like she was crazy. "Who's Carol?"_

 _The woman started weeping bitterly. The older man standing beside her held her tightly and placed her head in his chest._

 _Carol watched them hold each other passively, as if she were watching two strangers. No, not even that accurately described it. At least she would have felt bad when watching someone she didn't know in tears. She didn't feel bad at all. She didn't feel anything._

" _Do you remember anything?" one of the men said to her._

 _She looked at him. There was something about him that she felt that she should have known, but nothing came up when she tried to think harder. She couldn't remember anything. "Who am I?"_

* * *

Rogue took a lot more than Carol's powers that night. She took her memories, her life. It was two long, agonizing months before Carol finally remembered who Steve and her family were. Another few weeks before she started to remember bits of her past. It wasn't until Fourth of July that she remembered how to use her newly restored powers properly. For most of that time, she was a shell of her former self; lacking all the bluster and confidence that made her Carol Danvers.

She still wasn't herself. She still wasn't quite the confident woman she was this time last year. She was close; but there was no reason for her to have to be close to her normal self. She should have always been her normal self.

But she wasn't. And, it was all Rogue's fault.

Hatred poured off her of like a thick musk. The chaos around her could have not even been happening as far as she was concerned. Her main and only focus at that very moment was the woman in green and yellow several yards away from her.

Rogue rose to her feet and cracked her neck. "Hope that ain't the best ya got, sugah."

"Stay down, or I'll hurt you." Without another word, she dashed forward, bulldozing through mutant and human alike to get to Rogue.

Rogue sidestepped her and grabbed hold of her sash. Spinning around like a tornado, she tossed her over one of the buildings in the city proper.

She quickly regained her bearings and streaked back into the battlefield. Rogue rose into the air to meet her. Fists drawn back, the two collided with massive forcing, creating a tremendous shockwave that shattered every window in the city and knocked the two warring sides to the ground.

Carol got her wits back first and sent Rogue flying into a nearby building with two devastating punches. She followed her in and sent her flying through wall after wall with building shaking punch after building shaking punch. Rogue got in a few punches of her own, but none of them stopped Carol's momentum for any lengthy period of time.

The building was completely destroyed by the time the two women came out the other side. Carol caught Rogue with a right hook, then connected several more earth shaking punches that sent her flying through several more buildings. The streets and people below them were showered with bricks, shards of glass and other debris.

The southern belle shook the cobwebs out and returned with her own volley of punches and knees that sent Carol careening through several other buildings.

The two were just about evenly matched. Rogue could match Carol's speed and strength easily. The only advantage Carol had was that she could project energy blasts. Even that could have been reconciled by Rogue absorbing one of the mutant abilities down below.

"You stole everything from me!" she roared over the commotion below them.

"Ain't nobody told your simple ass to interfere," Rogue retorted.

"Nobody told that bitch mother of yours to start shit in my city."

At first, Rogue looked shocked by the sheer vitriol dripping from her response. Then, her entire body shook from pure rage. "We weren't even causing no trouble! We were trying to help people! But, nah, ya had to stick your nose where it didn't belong, and now look what happened."

"You're full of shit. The only person she was helping was herself. If you think otherwise, then you're as stupid as you sound."

The anger didn't subside an iota, even as a cool smirk crossed her lips. "I figured someone like you wouldn't understand. Ya see things in black and white, don't ya? Ya ought to know that not everything is so clear cut. Especially when you're fighting for survival like we are. But, I don't expect ya to care, let alone understand."

The lull was over. Rogue dashed forward and slammed into Carol with enough force to lift her into the air and into the sentinel behind her. The machine was ripped apart by the two colossal forces colliding with one another with little abandon or concern for the people around them.

Carol blasted her into the ground, the blasted her again back into the palace.

Rogue bounced off the wall and fell to the floor. "Unh." She rose up and into the air to confront the incoming Carol again. Before she could get start, Jen grabbed her and hurled her through several pillars.

"Time you learned not to take what doesn't belong to you." Carol and Jen advanced toward Rogue.

"What you got yourself into this time, chér?" Gambit sidled up smoothly next to Rogue, a trio of cards in his hand and a roguish smirk on his lips.

"Go on, now, Remy. This ain't the kind of scrap for ya to be fighting."

"Tsk. What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady fight by herself?"

"Don't need no help from ya, swamp rat. Now get."

"I would disagree," Jen said, cracking her knuckles. "You're going to need all the help you can get. I'll start by giving you a grammar lesson."

Carol glance from Jen to Gambit, then rested her gaze on Rogue. She was showing the wear and tear from the brief, but brutal battle. Her uniform was torn at the sleeves and pant leg, and the brown leather jacket she had been wearing had been torn to ribbons. Carol herself wasn't much better. Her sash was gone and her nose and lip were bloodied.

She was chomping at the bit to continue fighting and wasn't going to let some smooth talking Cajun waste any more of her time. Of course, it never occurred to her until the tornado swept her and Jen up that it was actually a distraction.

Storm's tornado carried the two Avengers up and through the roof, carrying both them and the debris outside and deep into the city.

With their two strongest members at least temporarily taken out of the fight and another incapacitated, the Avengers were at even more of a disadvantage than they were before.

Storm rose into the air and lifted her hands up toward the heavens. "Lightning, wind, heed my cry! Be unleashed and smite my enemies!"

The forces of nature themselves answered her call. Massive lightning bolts crashed through roof and into the Avengers. Wind as powerful as a Category Four hurricane swept through the palace. Because of the lightning, they weren't able to brace themselves like the X-Men were.

"Tasha!" Clint bellowed. The Russian spy was barely able to hold on to his hand. "Hold on!"

Steve held onto the pillar he happened to be standing by with all his strength, but his muscles were burning like they were on fire after being struck by three lightning bolts. Storm's power was never to be underestimated, everyone knew that. But, they quickly found out that she was much more powerful than any of them imagined. It was little wonder that she quickly gained Thor's respect.

"Winds! Sweep them all away!" The winds' howling wails turned to furious roars as they increased to Category Five. Anything that was somehow fastened to the floor was swept up and thrown out through the hole that Carol and Rogue created when they battled moments earlier.

This was why Steve was so desperate for the X-Men to fight on their side. Their members were far too powerful for them to fight with the members they had present. They needed help; he only hoped that Luke's team was watching and saw them getting their asses kicked.


	18. The Arrival

_**A/N:** Don't know about you guys, but I'm really enjoying integrating more Marvel lore in this story. _

_**The Arrival**_

 **Zephyr One**

Coulson's meeting was with the director of SWORD, Abigail Brand. Sentient World Observation and Response Division was SHIELD's sister organization. In 2012, Nick Fury convinced the World Security Council and the UN that the world needed a more proactive response to any potential extraterrestrial threats. Thus, Level 8 agent Abigail Brand was chosen by Fury himself to head up the new organization.

If SHIELD was more reactive to their defense of the planet, SWORD was proactive in their elimination of threats to the planet. They patrolled the skies in their mobile command base, The Damocles, keeping a sharp eye for any potential alien threats. Since 2012, there were three separate alien invasions that were either prevented or stopped early on by SWORD.

Of course, they needed the X-Men's help to repel the Shi'ar invasion last year.

The important thing was that the public was none the wiser. If they knew nothing of alien invasions, then Brand and her people did a good job. The more the public knew, the more panic there would be. Ignorance was bliss, after all.

Over the last three years, SHIELD had been investigating the circumstances around Coulson's resurrection. This led them to finding an ancient alien corpse in one of Fury's secret bunkers that was the source of the serum Coulson was brought back to life with. From there, they began to peel back the layers of the Inhumans that Mahr-Vehl spoke about last year. There was an entire multi-century conspiracy centering around the Inhumans that involved, to the surprise of no one, Hydra. They had a plan to force as many Inhumans as they could find to undergo terragenesis to form their own superpowered army. SHIELD was currently in the process of thwarting their efforts.

It was why they had been stretched so thin for so long. Hydra's tentacles ran deeper around the planet than anyone imagined. As it turned it, it had not two heads – as was originally thought – but three. There was science/experimentation, run by Baron Wolfgang von Strucker; espionage/terrorism, run by Viper; and business/diplomacy, run by Gideon Malick.

Malick was a former member of the WSC who had influence the world over. He had his fingerprints on several Fortune 500 companies, including Oscorp, Stark Industries, Pym Technologies and Hammer Industries. He was widely regarded in many countries as a financial advisor.

"Cut off one head, two more shall rise to take its place." This was Hydra's motto for as long as anyone could remember. This was embodied by the three-headed monster residing at the top of the food chain. The main and most historically significant head, espionage, had been cut off. Viper and her followers – what few of them hadn't been killed by Bucky Barnes and Jessica Drew during their manhunt for Viper – were on the run and in hiding. This meant that the business end and science division had to step up to keep Hydra's blood flowing. And that they did. With Strucker and Whitehall still in the wind and Malick far too well-connected for anyone to make a play on without serious repercussions, Hydra was safe. For now, that was.

The Diviners used for terragenesis were Kree in origin, meaning SWORD was going to be involved at some point or another. It turned out that they had also been investigating the Diviners, and the temples in which terragenesis supposedly took place. That led them to meet with SHIELD, as Brand had made a discovery that was going to break both their investigations wide open.

After small talk and sharing information, Brand placed a metal box on the holographic projection table in the middle of the briefing room.

"So, what exactly am I looking at here?" Coulson asked curiously.

"A box," the green haired woman answered dryly. "It's what's inside the box that's important."

One of the agents beside her handed her a pair of thick rubber gloves – similar to those one wore to handle dry ice – and a pair of ice tongs. She slipped the gloves on and opened the box. There was nothing but a gold metal cube inside, which she removed with the tongs and placed on the table.

The cube was six inches cubed, and was inscribed with many strange looking carvings and symbols.

Coulson was handed a pair of gloves, also, and slipped them on while eying the cube carefully. "That's Kree, isn't it?" Brand nodded. "Where did you find it?"

"In a temple in the Himalayas. It looked like it had been inhabited very recently. Maybe within the last ten years. This cube is thousands of years old, though."

He rubbed his chin and glanced at May, who was standing next to him. "Any idea what it is?"

"Yes, actually. It's a calendar. Or planner. Something to do with dates." She reached into a bag and pulled out a golden cube of the same dimensions and with the same exact carvings and symbols. "This is a replica we created so we could study it safely." She placed it on the table and pressed a button at the top. Suddenly, the entire room was filled with strange symbols, from wall to wall. There were hundreds of thousands of symbols, but Coulson and May noticed quickly that they repeated every so often. Like dates.

Most of the symbols were white, but they noticed that four of them were red.

"These symbols are Kree numbers. See how they repeat? That's how they divided them up into days, weeks, months, years, decades, centuries, and millennia." She twisted a dial on the side of the cube. Gradually as she twisted it, the symbols vanished until there were only three. "See? Works just like one of our calendar apps."

"Pretty nifty. But, why show us this?"

"We both need to be kept abreast of whatever it is the Kree are up to. It'll only be a matter of time before they show up."

"You think?" May asked.

"I know. They've already been here a few times." She twisted the dial again until the full number of symbols was present. She then pressed the most recent red one. A bunch of gibberish popped up, along with an image of Mahr-Vehl. "This is the day the Kree landed in Wakanda. The coordinates match up exactly with where his ship was found a few years ago."

Coulson rubbed his chin. "So, the red symbols represent when this cube detects that a Kree ship has made landfall?"

She nodded. She then tapped on the second most recent red symbol. More gibberish, then the image of five light skinned Kree. They had blonde, brown and red hair, just like humans. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought that they were actually humans in some kind of cosplay. "These are the sleeper agents that the Kree sent to determine the whereabouts of the scientists they sent thousands of years earlier."

"Wait." Daisy was sitting on a stool in the corner of the room, listening quietly. Both her knees were still wrapped up and there was a set of crutches leaned against the wall next to her. "Did they land in Roswell?"

"Not according to these coordinates," Brand answered.

"Huh. So, Area 51 is just a load of bullshit, then?"

"No, it exists. The alien they're studying is a Skrull, though. As for the sleeper agents, they were genetically enhanced to appear as humans and trained to act like them. They lived amongst us, lived normal lives, got jobs, had families. Honestly, if Mahr-Vehl hadn't told us about them, we would have never known about them."

"They're all gone, though, right?"

Brand hesitated for a moment before answering Daisy. "I… think so."

"Not the most inspiring of answers."

"I assume this first red symbol is when the Kree scientists first activated this device," Coulson said in a bid to get the meeting back on track.

"Right. It's been in that Himalayan temple ever since."

May observed everything quietly. She just so happened to let her eyes drifted to her left when she noticed another red symbol past the one representing when Mahr-Vehl made landfall. "Um, Brand?"

Brand followed her eyes and noticed the change. "What the hell?"

"Please tell me that means Mahr-Vehl is back because he forgot his cellphone."

Brand didn't answer, but tapped the comm on her wrist. "Director Brand to Damocles. I want a scan of the atmosphere, pronto."

Several tense moments ticked by in slow motion before there was a response. _=Scan complete, Director.=_

"Patch it through to the Zephyr One." She turned off the replica cube and placed it off to the side. The atmospheric scan blinked into sight a second later. It only took a few seconds for all the color to drain from everyone's face. "Oh my god."

"No."

"Get me the Avengers Facility, now!"

* * *

 **Genosha**

Wolverine tossed Pietro's unconscious body near the rest of his equally unconscious teammates. The Avengers were alive, barely. Being struck by multiple lightning bolts was too much for the human heroes to withstand. Those that could, that being Jen and Carol, were bombarded by an intense psychic assault that quickly rendered them unconscious. "Yeah, they're done," he confirmed after two sniffs.

"They're alive, barely," Jean added.

Cyclops nodded once. "Good job, Ororo."

Despite the praise, the weather witch didn't look to be proud of what she had done. If anything, she looked ashamed and saddened.

"I still maintain that this was highly unnecessary, Scott," Beast said. "We still have Magneto to contend with."

"I'm aware, Hank. But, this had to be taken care of first."

"I wished to avenge our comrades' wrongful and needless deaths as much as you, my friend, but there was a better way. We will need their strength to combat Magneto and the army he has amassed. The same army, need I remind you, that has just defeated several hundred MRD agents, as well as dozens of the advanced sentinels that have given us so much trouble in the past."

He was correct. The war was waning, and the mutants had a very clear advantage. What started as close to four hundred MRD operatives was now only twenty. What had been forty-nine sentinels was only six. It was uncanny how powerful the mutant side was, though it wasn't surprising. Magneto hadn't even needed to get involved; he was still in his palace.

"We will also, I wager, need their aid eventually for threats in the future," he added.

Cyclops sighed. He knew Beast was right. "We'll have to make due. If push comes to shove, we head back to the mansion and regroup.

Jubilee poked Janet in the arm. "What do we do with these guys?"

"I say we leave 'em here and let whatever happens to 'em happen," Logan suggested gruffly.

"That does not seem right, Logan," Storm said softly. "Even if their negligence has led to our suffering, we are not barbarians. Leaving them here is not befitting of heroes, especially those trained by the Professor."

"Yeah," Kitty agreed. "Let's at least take them back to their base or something."

"You two are a bunch of softies. Kurt's dead 'cause of these clowns. They lost all right to niceness and all that bullshit." Logan spat in their direction and turned to head for the palace. "Do what ya want, but I'm headin' to carve a chunk outta Erik's hide."

Cyclops watched him leave before turning to Kitty and Storm. "We can decide later. We still have work to do."

One by one, the X-Men followed after Wolverine. All except Jean. Her gaze was directed upward into the sky. There was something, or perhaps someone, up there that had completely enraptured her attention.

"Jean? What is it?" Rogue asked. When the redhead didn't answer, she nudged her softly.

That jerked her out of her trance. "There's something up there. I can feel them. Thousands of them."

Cyclops stopped and turned around when he heard that. "Feel who? More MRD?"

She shook her head. "No. These minds aren't human. They're too foreign. Too… alien."

There was a loud, almost deafening humming sound coming from above them. The pressure in the air changed, growing thicker and heavier. As if something extremely large had just entered the area and was bearing down on the people on the ground just from its sheer size.

Everyone noticed it. The people still fighting in the war ceased fire to all look up toward the sky. Mutant and human, MRD and X-Men all looked skyward. An eerie calm, a peculiar serenity passed over the inhabitants of the island that were outside at that very moment. A calm that predicated something happening in the next moment.

Then, it happened.

A purple beam of light flashed from above them. The next instant, a tremendous explosion accompanied by a massive flash of purple light overtook the city just fifty yards to their right. The ground rippled like a lake after a large stone broke its calm surface.

"What the hell?!"

Those still somehow managing to keep their gazes glued skyward saw it first. Logan could smell it. It was a pungent metal that he had never encountered in his life. It belonged to the gargantuan ship hovering above them. A ship that was easily as large as the tiny island, if not slightly larger. It was sterling silver in color, which the unmistakable shape of cannons peppered throughout its underside. One of which was smoking after being fired.

Smoke and fire billowed upward from the crater that used to be an inhabited city.

"My stars and garters."

"S—someone," Jubilee stammered. "Someone please tell me that belongs to the MRD."

They didn't know who it belonged to, but every last one of them knew it wasn't anyone of this planet. They had been invaded.

Beast swallowed and glanced at Cyclops. "Even with the full benefit of hindsight at my disposal, I will refrain from telling you that I told you so."


	19. Accused

_**Accused**_

 **Avengers Facility**

A few minutes before the alien battleship appeared over the battle in Genosha, the New Avengers were silently watching the news coverage of the battle. The tide was slowly but surely turning the mutants' way. Magneto's side was winning and there wasn't anything they could do about it. Steve told them to stay out of the war, to let the two sides fight it out amongst themselves, and that was what they were doing.

It being Steve's orders didn't make it any easier.

Then, the news reporter present above the battle reported of a sudden Category Five hurricane that popped up out of nowhere. Stranger than that, it seemed to be localized right above Magneto's palace.

"Damn. Storm must be there," Luke commented.

A volley of lightning bolts struck the palace; or more specifically, inside the palace. Seconds later, powerful gusts of wind sent the Avengers flying out of the palace and into the battle. They didn't appear to be fighting it, so either they asked Storm to get them there quickly, or, "They're out!"

Scott was right. The team, burned from the lightning and bloodied from a seemingly hellacious fight in the palace, weren't moving.

They were told not to get involved, but the mutants were going to kill them once they got their hands on their prone forms. "Get to the quinjet. We'll call in SHIELD and ask for as much help as they can spare on the way."

Monica and Rhodey left ahead of the jet. It would take her a minute to get to Genosha, him around ten, and the jet about thirty.

They were already gone when SHIELD tried to contact the Facility, but Jocasta helpfully patched them into the quinjet.

 _=Avengers, this is Coulson. I don't have any time to explain, but I need you to double time it to Genosha.=_

"Yeah, that's where we're going, Coulson," Bobbi answered. "We need every able body you can spare to save the others. Storm took them out and it won't be long until Magneto sicks his vultures on them."

 _=I wasn't aware and that's not why I called. There's a Kree battleship that has just breached Earth's atmosphere. It seems to be right over the island.=_

A cold, frigid chill ran through the jet. They hadn't thought about the Kree since their interactions up with Mahr-Vehl last year. They certainly didn't think they were on bad enough terms for him to send a battleship to Earth. "Goddamn it. This is _so_ not what we need right now. Is it hostile?"

 _=Given that it just opened fire and destroyed a sizable portion of the capital city, I would say that it's hostile.=_

Bobbi sighed heavily. "We're on our way, but I don't know what we can do against a space ship."

"We'll have to try our best and hope Thor or someone is on their way." Danny activated the emergency thrusters, propelling the jet at twice its normal speed. Their only hope was that the other Avengers weren't too injured to fight. They were going to need everyone.

* * *

 **Genosha**

Pandemonium gripped the small mutant island. Humans and mutants alike scrambled for cover, anything to shield them from the purple beams streaking down on them from the massive alien battle ship hovering above them. No one knew what it was or why it was there. All they did know was that whoever was inside it meant to kill them.

The X-Men tried to direct foot traffic as orderly as possible, but it was nothing doing.

"Jean, can you hear any thoughts up there?" Scott, as usual, was as calm as ever. He had to be if his team was going to remain calm.

"I can, but I can't understand what they're thinking. It doesn't feel right." She frowned and turned to face him. "We need to get it away from the island before any more people die."

He nodded and was just about to say something when a familiar white streak landed in front of them. "Spectrum, are your teammates on the way?"

She nodded silently. Her attention had been wrestled away by the huge space craft above them. Purple beams zipped out of the cannons on its underside, unseen until they created a ground-shaking explosion somewhere nearby. Her eyes narrowed as she shifted back into her light form and rocketed into the air.

"Hey!"

If she could draw the ship's fire, then that would give the others below a chance to come up with something. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Rogue and Storm quickly following after her. The skies above them rumbled angrily and opened up, unleashing a torrent of lightning that struck the top of the ship.

"Change of plans, then." She veered toward the ship and started blasting its cannons. There were close to fifty of them. The ship was also extremely sturdy. It took several blasts of medium strength to destroy one; not a level she could hope to maintain for any significant length of time.

The lightning bolts weren't doing much better. Several could create a sizable burn spot on top of the hull, but they couldn't penetrate whatever metal it was created from.

Rogue, on the other hand, went for a simple approach. She bent the cannon barrels in some way to render them unable to fire. If they did, they exploded. She managed to take out over a dozen this way.

"Good work, Rogue," Storm commended.

Jean joined the other three ladies and did the same as Rogue, though much more quickly. "What is this thing?"

"It's a Kree battleship," Monica answered her.

"Kree?"

"They're aliens. And I don't think they come in peace."

Between the four of them, forty of the fifty cannons had been either destroyed or rendered incapable of firing. It was right then that a large hole opened up in the side of the ship. Dozens upon dozens, hundreds of aircraft – each the size of a compact car – flew out of the hole. They immediately opened fire on the heroines.

"Well, shit."

They scattered, each going in a different direction and taking on as many of the ships as they could. They managed to destroy some, as they were far less durable than the battleship, but the many that they didn't headed right for the island and the grounded X-Men. The sky was filled with silver Kree ships and their green energy blasts that were fired from small cannons attached to the fronts.

The ships were small, and thus very fast and very quick. The untrained mutants that had been fighting in the war, as tired and ill-equipped as they were, stood no chance. The X-Men, however, were more than capable of holding their own.

Those with ranged powers – like Cyclops, Gambit, Jubilee and Storm, were able to take out several due to the ships being clumped up together in clusters. When Rhodey arrived, tracking cluster missiles were able to take out even more ships at once.

Those missiles were in limited supply, though.

"There's hundreds of them!" he exclaimed.

Energy blasts of every color crisscrossed across the sky, with explosions peppered everywhere in between. The quinjet was still fifteen minutes out and it didn't look like the alien ships were going to stop anytime soon. They were going to need more help soon.

Which was why no one batted an eye or double took when Magneto and Polaris appeared from somewhere deeper within the city.

The Mistress of Magnetism only had to exert a little power to destroy several ships at once. They were made of metal, so clearing them out was child's play for her.

Her father, on the other hand, turned his attention to the massive battleship. "You would dare attack my island and kill my people without reason?!" he roared as he stretched his hands out toward the ship. A loud, metallic whine echoed over the battle ensuing all around. "That is a grievance worthy of death."

The ship seized up, practically putty in his hands. Slowly, he hands pulled around, his immense magnetic control fighting to rip the durable metal apart. The ship was torn in half, almost right down the middle.

"Whoa."

"Yeah, whoa."

Rhodey and Monica watched the mutant leader slam the two halves together, mashing the bisected ship into one massive ball of twisted and mangled metal. He kept up the pressure, condensing it down and fusing the metal together until it was a large, smooth ball of solid metal.

The smaller ships, at seeing the battleship destroyed so easily, stopped attacking the island and turned their attention and fire toward Magneto.

His shield formed over him to deflect the endless stream of energy beams coming at him from every direction. He cackled haughtily as they bounced off his shield and back at the shooters. "Fools! Do you really think you stand a chance against the Master of Magnetism? Begone!"

The ball exploded into a cloud of thousands upon thousands of large metal shards. They skewered the ships and then exploded into even more shards to do even more damage to them. Countless dozens fell from the sky after sustaining too much damage to stay in the air.

The shards weaved through the air at Magneto's command, piercing through any of the remaining ships. What had been several hundred before his arrival was only a few dozen after his attacks.

"I actually don't think we were even needed," Monica remarked. Rhodey nodded in silently agreement. "Coulson, we're just about done here. You can cancel the reinforcements."

It was several moments before he responded. When he did, he sounded just as grim as before. _=Not even close to done, actually. There are ten more battleships over major cities just like that one.=_

Of course it wasn't that easy. Why would a war mongering alien race like the Kree only send _one_ ship to invade a planet, even if they thought Earth weaker than them? "It never ends. Where—"

"The hell?"

One of the space crafts opened up, allowing its lone occupant to exit aboard a hoverboard. The Kree was large – standing over seven feet tall – and blue, dressed in black armor with a black hood over his head. There were red markings on his chestplate. Held in his hand was a massive Warhammer with a gleaming purple gem in the center of the head.

"Terrans," he spoke in a loud, clear voice. "I am Ronan, Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire. You, of the planet Terra, have been accused of hoarding genetic abominations."

He swung his hammer, unleashing a tremendous wave of purple energy that sent everyone in the air crashing to the ground below. Even Magneto's shield, which easily withstood an onslaught from hundreds of ships, was shattered on impact after being struck.

"Holy shit!" Rogue, the most durable out of everyone there still able to stand, was first to her feet. "That guy's serious. What's he talking about, genetic abominations? He ain't talking about us, is he?"

"No, he's talking about the Inhumans," Rhodey answered. He was met with blank stares from the mutants. "It's a long story. We'll explain later."

The quinjet rocketed into Genoshoan airspace, hovering just above where Ronan was. Luke leaped out of the hatch and freefell right toward him. His intention was to use his built up momentum to knock him out of the air and, hopefully, for a loop long enough for the others to get some hits in.

It didn't go according to plan. Ronan caught him by the throat, not even jostled by catching a 425 lb man that had been fall from over three hundred feet. He regarded him dismissively before tossing him down to the ground.

Luke landed on the island and created a deep trench over a hundred feet in length before finally slowing to a stop.

"Luke!" Monica and Rhodey helped him to his feet. He was wobbly and coughing from being choked, but okay. "That's that Ronan guy Thor was talking about last year."

The quinjet landed a few feet away. The rest of the Avengers, woefully outmatched if the likes of Rogue and Magneto being casually blown away was any indication, filed out quickly and gathered around the teammates.

"Ain't no way he can take all of us, though," Gambit said with a confident smirk.

"Yeah. We just take his big hammer and he's done," Jubilee agreed. "Right?"

Ronan touched down twenty yards away from the collective of heroes. He lifted his hammer and pointed it at them. An ominous purple glow began to creep around the head. "And the reward for those judged guilty is death."


	20. Collection

_**Collection**_

 **Boot of Jemiah – Knowhere**

The last year had borne much fruit in Thor's investigation. He and Brunnhilda learned what each of the six Infinity gems were capable of. The power gem increased the user's strength and durability a hundredfold, enhanced any uncanny ability they had innately to godlike levels and allowed them to manipulated any known energy.

The time gem granted time travel, complete mastery over temporal energy – slow down or speed up the flow of time – accelerate or slow down time, and to see into the past and the future.

The space gem allowed the user to travel to any point in the universe instantaneously, as well as interfere with the motion of other objects.

The soul gem allowed the observance, attack and/or theft of another being's soul. It also allowed the user to revert a being to its natural state.

The reality gem allowed the user to alter and change reality itself into whatever they saw fit.

The mind gem granted near limitless psionic/psychic abilities.

With even one gem, anyone would be able to conquer any world they wanted. With two, they were unstoppable, even against Odin. With them all, all would be lost. It was imperative, then, that Thor do all he could to make sure that even one didn't fall into evil's hands.

The space gem, or The Tesseract, was safe in Odin's treasure room in Asgard. The mind gem was powering Vision. The time gem was in Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. No one knew where the soul gem was. As it was the most potent and the most dangerous, that worried him the most.

The reality gem, or The Aether, had been in the possession of Malekith the Accursed, ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. He used it in an attempted invasion of Asgard. They barely survived. They lost thousands of soldiers, each one felled defending their home. If not for Odin, armed with the Twilight Sword and a Cosmic Cube – a cosmic artifact capable of altering reality like the reality gem, though on a much lesser scale – they would have all tasted death. Even still, it took the full extent of his Odinforce to defeat Malekith.

After taking a day to replenish his power, he sent Thor and Brunnhilda to Knowhere to give the Aether to The Collector.

The Collector was one of the Elders of the Universe, the oldest beings in the universe. They were the survivors of the very first intelligent race that lived in the very first galaxy created after the "Big Bang". The Collector dedicated his life to collecting artifacts and life forms from every known world. He also collected dangerous objects that could potentially be used to cause untold destruction.

That included the reality gem.

Knowhere was a settlement establishment within the decapitated head of a slain Celestial. Spacecrafts were coming in and going out constantly, carrying supplies and items to trade for the organic materials that were being mined from the Celestial skull. This attracted a wide assortment of criminals and rogues who wished to make a quick profit from items they procured illegally.

The lone tavern in Knowhere, Boot of Jemiah, was filled to capacity with such people. When they arrived, they quickly realized that they would be unable to find The Collector's museum in a timely manner. They went into the tavern, thinking that one of the patrons would be able to point them in the right direction.

Immediately, they realized that their names were known even to the far reaches of the universe. When they walked in, the tavern cleared like rats. "Well. Such is the price of fame, I suppose." Thor strode quickly to the bar and tapped on the worn wood to get someone's attention. "Prithee, kind sir. I was hoping if you would so kind as to direct my friend and I to the Collector. I heard word that he has a museum here."

The insectoid bartender turned and regarded Thor suspiciously. At least, he thought the look was of suspicion. "Never heard of him," it answered, its voice gurgly and raspy.

"Of course." He tapped the bar again and glanced back at Brunnhilda. She was carrying a cross look and was strumming the hilt of her sword menacingly. "Two ales, if you would."

Two massive mugs full of golden liquid in hand, he led her to one of the many free tables.

"That insect is lying. Give me but one moment and he will reveal the truth to us."

He regarded her with an amused grin. "Mayhap that is unwise. Recall that we are but guests in this place." As they drank, his gaze drifted toward the only other occupants of the tavern. There were five – two green beings, a creature similar in appearance to the bandit rodents of Midgard, a… tree, and a man who appeared as though he might have been of Midgard. "Let us ask them over there."

The five seemed to be discussing the loss of some item they planned on selling. As he approached, he overheard the green male mention the Collector.

"Hail, fellow patrons! I could not help but overheard you speaking of the Collector. My friend and I are looking for him and I hope you can point us in his direction."

The human looking one stopped midsentence and glanced in their direction. "Oh. Uh, yeah. Yeah. We were just going to go see him."

"I am Groot," the tree said.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe he won't ask for a refund. Name's Starlord. I take it you guys aren't from around here."

Thor and Brunnhilda bowed regally. "Aye, Starlord. I am Thor – Son of Odin, prince of Asgard and God of Thunder."

"And I am Brunnhilda, leader of the Valkior and conductor of the slain to the halls of Valhalla."

Starlord blinked, undoubtedly surprised by their flowery introductions. "Huh. Well, I'm Starlord… the galaxy's greatest bounty hunter. Yeah. And these are my teammates – Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot. Nova, Quasar and Adam are around here somewhere."

"We were on our way to see the Collector to tell him that we lost an item he paid us to retrieve," Gamora explained.

Starlord scowled. "We did _not_ lose it. Ronan stole it from us."

"If by stole, you mean picked it up off the ground after you dropped it, then yes, he stole it."

"I only dropped it because he tried to incinerate me!"

"Just admit ya got butterfingers, Quill. We've been arguing about this for three days," Rocket said. He eyed Thor, or more specifically, Mjolnir. "Is that uru, blondie?"

"The mighty Mjolnir? Aye, 'tis uru. Crafted by the finest dwarven blacksmiths in—"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna that hammer. Think that'll be enough to make up for Quill's butterfingers?"

"You cannot be serious."

"He is."

"I didn't drop it. Ronan stole it! How many times do I have to say it?"

"You can say it as many times as you want. Doesn't make it true," Gamora said before draining her glass.

Thor watched the mortals bicker amongst themselves with an amused grin. They reminded him in many ways of the Avengers.

Brunnhilda, on the other hand, was growing impatient. "Can you _please_ take us to the Collector? We have an item of great import to give to him."

"Great import, huh?" Rocket hopped out of his seat and walked over to her. He barely came up to her knees. "Let ol' Rocket have a look at it."

She removed the unbreakable, ornate container in which the reality gem was stored from her belt and showed it to him. When he made a grab for it, she moved it out of his reach. "You said look."

"But I want to see it with my hands."

"You cannot see with your hands, Rocket," Drax stated dryly. "I have told you this repeatedly."

Starlord sighed and stood up. "Yeah, we'll take you to the Collector." Under his breath, he mumbled, "Let's get this over with."

The streets of Knowhere were packed with every kind of extraterrestrial imaginable. Thor had seen countless races in his lengthy lifespan, but even he was amazed at the different shapes, sizes, colors and everything else he saw.

The mortals, these Guardians of the Galaxy, were an eclectic bunch. They seemed to be at each other's throats, constantly arguing over some matter or another. And yet, it seemed that they regarded each other as family. It was the way of mortals, he noticed. When they had no one else, they bonded with strangers bound together by a similar cause.

He also noticed that Brunnhilda was antsy. Much more so than he had seen from the warrior. "Is all well, my friend?"

She hesitated briefly, then shook her head. "Nay. My shoulders weigh heavy with vexations of the future."

He frowned at her. He, too, had been worried about what the future held in store for them. So much so, that he had become distracted in his duties. He hoped that his rekindling his romance with Sif would take his mind of his troubles, but they came creeping up on him at unexpected times. It was truly frustrating. "I understand. I, too, find myself vexed at times. Between this, constantly worrying for our friends on Midgard, as well as the looming threat of Thanos, I find it difficult to concentrate on much anything else these days."

She smirked. "Well, color me surprised. I would have wagered all that Sif had your attention fully enraptured."

Despite himself, he allowed the sheepish smile he had been fighting to break through. "Yes, well—" It was then that he noticed Gamora looking very rigid and tense. She carried herself in the same manner as Natasha – cautious, alert, and always ready to strike a killing blow. It would have come as little surprise that she looked tense, had she not looked the exact opposite mere moments ago. "Is all well?"

It took her a few moments to realize he was talking to her. "It's nothing."

He wanted to press further, since he knew that it wasn't nothing. But, he had just met her and thus didn't want to seem overbearing. "As you say, milady."

The group walked through the crowded streets in silence for a few minutes. Every so often, Thor would glance at one of the Guardians. They didn't seem like much; then again, the greatest heroes oft did not. "What was the item that you—"

"We didn't lose it."

"—that was stolen from you?"

He sighed heavily and pulled a handheld hard light projector from his coat pocket. "Around here, they call it The Orb. Collector said it contained a lot of power. He paid us a lot to retrieve it, and we did. Then, we were attacked by a Kree warship. Some guy named Ronan came looking for it. Attacked us, then somehow managed to pry it right out of my iron grip." He shook his head, as if still unable to come to terms with it. "I tried to get it back, but he had already opened it up. All that was in there was some little ass purple rock."

"That little ass purple rock helped him kick our ass into the next star system," Rocket said.

"Ronan the Accuser?" Brunnhilda asked.

"Yeah. You know him?"

"Aye. The tales of his cold judgments sealing the deaths of countless trillions at the hands of the Kree military are of legend. If you escaped him with your lives, then verily, the fates smiled upon you that day."

"Maybe. The museum is right up here."

Tivan, the name of the Collector's museum, came into view once they rounded a corner onto a less crowded – but still quite active – street. The simple neon letters put Thor in the mind of the various shops on Midgard. Bright letters set against the black of night attracted patrons like moths to flame, it seemed.

On the outside, the building was simple and unremarkable. On the inside, however, it was a marvel. From one end of the building to the other, the museum was filled with glass cases containing a different alien being. The same could be found on the second floor.

"Are these beings prisoners?" Brunnhilda asked warily.

"Nah. Tanaleer likes to take an example from every world he encounters," Rocket explained.

At first glance, Thor knew of many of the races on display. Skrulls, Shi'ar, Kree, Jotun, Dark Elves, Chitauri, Krylorian, Korbanites, and The Brood were all represented. Plus, there was some kind of duck creature eying Brunnhilda a little too closely for his tastes. "Uncanny." In addition, there were many, many artifacts on display. A set of Nega Bands, a cosmic rod, a helmet belonging to the Nova Corps, and a cosmic cube were among the items shown.

"Welcome to my Museum," spoke a voice smooth and low from further inside. A man with white hair and regal robes with a furry white cape strode quickly toward them. "I am Tanaleer Tivan, the Collector." He glanced at Thor and Brunnhilda, then regarded the Guardians closely. Upon seeing that they were all empty handed, his eyes narrowed. "Where is the Orb?"

Starlord sighed. "You see, we had it and were on our way to bringing it back here. Then we were attacked by a Kree naval fleet and some guy named Ronan. He, uh, he took it."

"He… took it." Instead of becoming angry, as they feared he would, he grew contemplative. "This is not good." Again, he glanced at Thor and Brunnhilda. "And as for you two, I know why you are here."

They nodded. "Then, let us not tarry any longer." She handed him the ornate containing holding the reality gem.

Tanaleer held the container up into the light. The bloody red gem inside shown beautifully. Its beauty was deceiving. The power contained within it was far greater than any of them could have possibly imagined. "I thank you. But, I must ask why not keep it secure in your King's vault?"

"The Tesseract is already on Asgard," Thor answered. "Father thought it unwise to keep two infinity gems so close together."

"Unwise indeed. Well, I promise that I will keep it safe."

"See that you do."

With one final nod toward The Collector and the Guardians, they took their leave. Their task complete, they intended on calling out to Heimdall to open the Bifrost and bring them home. However, before they could make that request, they noticed the Rainbow Bridge rain down on the other end of the settlement. Curious, as Heimdall would have opened it closer to them if he knew they were about to leave.

The answer to this sudden mystery did not take long to be found. It actually found them, in the form of Hermod, Odin's messenger and Thor's younger half-brother. "Hermod, what are you doing here?"

"Father has commanded that you both go to Midgard at once," he stated gravely. "A Kree incursion led by Ronan the Accuser has beset them, and Odin fears they may not survive without your aid."

Thor felt his heart drop. He had feared this would happen. Midgard was vulnerable to a powerful alien force such as the Kree. But first, he needed to know what was contained within the Orb that had the Collector so concerned. "Hold. I will be but a moment."

With that, he quickly strode back into the Museum. Tanaleer was speaking with Starlord about the Orb. "Collector, I must know what is being held within the Orb. Midgard is under attack by Ronan and I must know what it is we are dealing with."

He paused midsentence and regarded Thor. His passive features dropped slightly. "The power gem."

His heart dropped even further. His friends would be slaughtered within minutes. There was no time to delay. "My thanks."

He sprinted out of the Museum. "Ronan has the power gem, Valkyrie. We must not tarry a second longer." His friends lives were in the balance.


	21. Power

_**Power**_

 **Genosha**

"And the reward for those judged guilty is death." Seconds after he finished speaking, a wave of purple energy erupted from his hammer, toward the heroes. Rhodey, Magneto, and Polaris all activated their shields as a three-layer defense.

The wave wasn't very large; those on the outskirts could have dodged if not for the shields. However, what it lacked in size, it more than made up for in potency. It collided with the shields and shattered the first two. The third, Magneto's, held up barely.

The mutant leader collapsed to his knees, utterly exhausted already from just blocking one attack. Rhodey's power had been cut clean in half.

"What're y'all just standin' there for? Get him!" Rogue charged ahead, fist cocked back to attack Ronan. Her punch landed solidly. To her absolute shock, he didn't budge an inch. She punched him again, but the result was the same. "Wha—?" Again and again her punches struck true, but he barely noticed that she was even hitting him. It was like a small child slapping at a brick wall.

Gambit and Wolverine charged in to help her, with Jubilee and Peter close behind them. Whether it was kinetically charged playing cards, adamantium claws, fireworks or solid web balls, nothing they did even made Ronan blink, let alone actually do any damage. Even a fully powered optic blast and a siege of lightning did little more than singe his armor.

"What the hell is this guy?!"

Those that had been attacking fell back and gave the second wave a chance. Iron Fist, Spectrum, Beast, Shadowcat, Luke Cage and Jean Grey all circled around him. They attacked at random intervals to keep him guessing. Those that could attacked at a distance to distract him so he couldn't defend against the melee fighters.

The ground shook from some of the attacks being fired off. The crater forming around where Ronan was standing grew in size with each attack. The ground cracked and broke apart as though a massive earthquake was rumbling through the island. Despite the potency of their combined attacks, it did nothing.

Ronan hadn't moved or even flinched once since their offensive began. No matter what they did, he was far too durable to be hurt.

They fell back to regroup. "This isn't working, damn it!" Monica said harshly.

"He's just standing there and it's pissing me off!" Jubilee bit her lip and glanced warily at Ronan. He was still standing there, as if daring them to attack him. "If we take his hammer away, will that do anything?"

"Kree weapons are booby-trapped against anyone who isn't a Kree," Rhodey explained. "If you're wearing gloves, it'll be okay, but don't grab it with your bare hands."

"I don't like it," Logan grunted. "This guy barely moved no matter what we threw at him. I ain't liking the chances of him just lettin' us disarm him."

He was right. If Ronan was strong enough to withstand all of their attacks without trouble, the chances of them taking his weapon away without being attacked themselves were slim. Too slim to risk trying.

The consequences of the Avengers being taken down just thirty minutes earlier reared their ugly head. Not to say that the like of Captain America and Black Widow, or even Ms. Marvel and She-Hulk, would have proved to be any more than extra bodies to throw at him, but the numbers could have distracted him long enough for someone like Shadowcat or even Magneto or Polaris to take the hammer away.

Scott knew this, which was why he stayed quiet. It wasn't going to work and he knew it.

The others knew it as well, but someone had to stay positive or there was no point in continuing the fight.

As they continued their discussion, Vision soared high above them toward Ronan. The Kree Accuser tilted his head upward to watch the synthezoid. A tremendous yellow beam erupted from the mind gem embedded in Vision's forehead and washed over Ronan.

The Kree grunted as the beam shoved him back several feet, leaving behind a deep trench in the ground in front of him.

The energy dissipated, leaving Ronan on one knee, with smoke tendrils rising from his body. He was singed, but otherwise uninjured. The damage around him, however, was extensive. There was a one-hundred-foot long, twenty-foot-wide area around him that was completely barren. Everything that had been there had been completely wiped out in the blast.

"Impossible," Ronan spat as he rose to his feet.

" _Not impossible."_

He narrowed his eyes and fired a purple beam at Vision.

Vision turned intangible, allowing the beam to pass harmless through him. He then dashed toward Ronan and, just prior to crashing into him, increased his density as much as he could. He was a ninety-ton projectile traveling fast than the speed of sound.

Ronan held out his hand and stopped Vision dead in his tracks. He was pushed back slightly, but held fast. "You are only slightly more annoying that the others," he stated. His universal weapon blurred until it slammed into Vision's chest, sending him careening over the others' heads and into Magneto's palace.

Up until that point, only one person had managed to do any damage to Ronan at all, and that was just superficial. Attacking him physically was a waste of time.

Scott realized this. "Jean."

She nodded and focused her attention on Ronan, who was quickly advancing toward them. While the others girded themselves for the next attack, she unleashed a powerful telepathic attack.

Ronan screamed and dropped to his knees. He clutched at his head with one hand, while the other remained gripped around his weapon.

Rogue flew up to him and took hold of his warhammer with both gloved hands. "Keep it up, Jean!" Rhodey grabbed hold of the hammer and activated his thrusters to as close to full power as he could. Polaris and Magneto both used their powers to helped pull the warhammer from him.

Ronan's grip was vice-like, even though he was under assault. "Enough!" Another energy blast erupted from the power gem, enveloping half the island in a massive energy dome.

Had Monica not gotten her out of the way in time, Rogue would have been vaporized by the attack. Instead, she and the others were safely carried to the other side of the island just as the energy dome was beginning to expand. They were lucky, as there was nothing – literally nothing – remaining on the northwestern half of Genosha.

Magneto dropped to his knees, eyes wide with unadulterated shock. "Wha—what has he done?" he whispered numbly.

His daughter was just as shaken when she dropped down next to him and wrapped her arm around his quaking shoulders. "Father, we have to go or we'll end up like them."

"What?!" He shrugged her comforting hand away. "I'm not abandoning my home. If you wish to go, leave. But, I'm staying to defend my people."

"Father—"

He turned away from her. He still wasn't steady on his feet after exerting so much power blocking Ronan's initial attack, but that wasn't going to deter him.

If there was anyone else not with the Avengers or X-Men, they were wiped out. Hundreds of innocent lives, snuffed out in an instant.

Jean groaned, having been briefly knocked out after having her telepathic connection abruptly ended, and sat up. "He's more powerful than anyone I've ever faced." That included the likes of Apocalypse, Mr. Sinister and multiple omega level mutants.

" _His immense power, it seems, originates from his universal weapon,"_ Vision noted as he softly landed near them.

"I don't remember Mahr-Vehl being this strong," Bobbi said. "And I don't remember Thor saying he was this strong."

"To be fair, he never said how strong he was, but I think he would have mention it if he was at _this_ level," Rhodey noted. He looked at Rogue and said, "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said. "Thanks. I'd be a smear if ya hadn't gotten my hide outta there."

"No problem," Monica nodded. She glanced at the unconscious Avengers she luckily had the mind and time to scoop up and sighed. "Look, I don't know what happened between you guys and the other Avengers, and it really isn't important. We're all in the same boat here. Coulson said there are ten other battleships on the planet right now. I don't know if there are more like Ronan on any of those ships; if there are, we're in a world of shit. Whatever grudge or grievance you have with humans or us or whoever, bury it. It can be dealt with later. We're gonna need everyone on the same page if we're going to win this."

After a few moments of thought, heads started to nod in agreement. "Okay. We're in."

"Good. Now—" She stopped abruptly when she noticed Ronan striding toward them with purpose. "Aw, shit."

The heroes prepared themselves for the worst. Which they had no idea how to gauge, since it seemed that he hadn't really been trying since their battle started.

Ronan opened his mouth speak when a massive lightning bolt crashed into him. The entire island shook and trembled. The sky was filled with a blinding flash of white light. The thunder that accompanied the bolt was deafening.

They had to cover their eyes to keep from being blinded. Those that did so too late felt like they were looking directly into a solar eclipse.

The light faded eventually, but the heat from the lightning bolt was almost unbearable.

"Wish you had've pulled that out to begin with," Cyclops said to Storm. "But, a little warning would have been nice."

"I did not do that," she said with a growing smile. "He did."

Thor, The Mighty Avenger, landed several yards in front of them, facing Ronan. The sky above them rumbled angrily, pitch black clouds alight from hidden lightning. "You will yield and return to Hala anon, Ronan. So speaks the Son of Odin."

"The Kree have no quarrel with Asgard, thunder god," Ronan said. He was, to the surprise of everyone but Thor, unhurt by massive lightning bolt. At worse, his armor was severely burned and melted where the bolt hit.

"You do not have a quarrel with Asgard, verily. But, the very moment you stepped foot on Midgard and attacked these mortals, you began a quarrel with me!" He charged toward him, lightning dancing around his mighty hammer.

His hammer struck true to the side of Ronan's head. Again, the ground shook from the sheer force of the blow, but he barely budged.

Thor quickly retreated back to the others. "His power is incredible. That blow would have decapitated nearly any mortal villain."

That clearly wasn't what anyone was hoping to hear. "But you can still beat him, right?" Monica asked.

"Nay. Ronan wields an infinity gem. Even my godly strength pales in comparison to his."

There were two very distinct reactions. The Avengers were both surprised and horrified by the announcement, while the X-Men were utterly confused. "What's an infinity gem?"

"It's a cosmic artifact that can augment someone's power by several magnitudes," Thor answered. "There are six of them. Ronan has the power gem, which gives him godlike strength and durability. As long as he has it in his possession, we cannot defeat him."

"You're joking, right?" Peter groaned. "What can we do? We can't just give up."

Before Thor could answer, Ronan raised his warhammer above his head. "I have grown bored of your futile resistance. Your interference ends now!" Despite the booming voice with which his declaration, his actual attack didn't measure up. He merely tapped the ground with the head of his weapon.

The result, however, was anything but disappointing.

A purple wave expanded from his central point at frightening speed. It overtook the heroes before any of them had a chance to even think of mounting any kind of defense.

The energy that filled their crevices and threatened to rip them apart atom by atom felt old. Ancient, even. It was more powerful than any of them had encountered.

Such was the frightening potential of an infinity gem. Nothing stood in its way. The island was completely disintegrated, and everyone on it killed instantly. Blinding purple light lit up the sky, choking out the ambient moon and stars.

The wave of devastation continued unhindered until it naturally fizzled out. Nothing remained for hundreds of miles. Nothing but a deafening silence. The world had taken notice of the power the Kree Supreme Accuser wielded, and could find nothing to say.


	22. Once More into the Fray

_**Once More into the Fray**_

Thrusters thundered as they propelled Iron Man at his maximum speed. Tony pushed his armor to its limits so he could arrive in time to help. His only hope was that he wasn't too late.

Just half an hour ago, he had been in his Malibu mansion with his wife, Bruce and Betty. With Jen's help, he found Bruce in Bogota, Colombia, laying low and helping those in need like he always did. Thanks to the war, Ross had to put his pursuit on hold and return to DC. That gave Tony enough time to find Bruce and convince him to come back to Malibu with him for safety.

Having Bruce back was bittersweet. It reminded him of all the good times he and the other Avengers shared when he was still with the team. It also reminded him that Bruce would never have any peace and could never truly be happy until Gen. Ross was taken out of the equation. Permanently. It wasn't fair to Bruce and it wasn't fair to Betty. She had to throw her entire life away just to be with the man she loved, all because her father couldn't understand that a human being was not a piece of property. It made Tony sick, but there wasn't anything he could do.

Tony had pointedly decided to not have any television on, in case there was a news bulletin giving updates on the war. He didn't want to be tempted to jump in his armor and fly out to give his teammates a hand. He knew Bruce was thankful, as it minimized the danger of him hulking out and going on a rampage in the middle of a crowded city.

But, there was a second edge to that sword. Not being able to follow what was happening only made him feel anxious. For years, he served as the team's eye-in-the-sky to keep them out of danger. Now, he wasn't there to do that. Not to say that they needed him, but it had been much more difficult to keep his promise to Pepper, and himself, than he had first anticipated.

The war was easy to ignore, no matter how anxious it made him. All he had to do was preoccupy himself with one project or another; his compulsive tunnel-vision did the rest. It was significantly more difficult to ignore an alien invasion. First Jocasta, then Happy – who had been keeping up with the events in Genosha on his phone – informed him that a massive spaceship had started attacking Genosha. One glance at his wife for her okay – she gave it – and he suited up and left.

Being in the Iron Man armor again felt like putting on an old glove. It still fit just fine, but it was going to take a while to work out all the stiffness. He had only been wearing it for public appearances.

Bruce decided to stay behind, just in case.

This was – to his knowledge – the second invasion in the last four years. That was two too many for his tastes. This was what he was afraid of, and why he helped Hank Pym create Ultron. The world was going to need a sturdier line of defense against these invaders than the Avengers. An Avengers team without Thor, who was their heaviest hitter to say the least. Not to say that Spectrum wasn't a suitable substitute, but she wasn't Thor.

"How much longer, Jo?"

" _Ten more minutes at this velocity, sir,"_ she answered promptly.

The armor he was wearing was the Mark 37, aka Bleeding Edge. It started as an idea dreamed up during one of the many sleepless nights he suffered after the Battle of Manhattan. After Ultron, he revisited the idea and perfected it. The Bleeding Edge was comprised entirely of nano-machines that were stored in Tony's body until he mentally summoned them, after which they would manifest as his armor. As it was made of nano-machines, it was capable of molding itself into anything Tony needed it to – be it clothing, weapons, other armors, or even different beings.

The Bleeding Edge was more powerful than any of his other armors, including Veronica. It was fast, but not fast enough. Ten minutes was too much time.

"Get in touch with Cap and let him know that I'm on my way."

" _Captain America, as well as the other Avengers present on Genosha, have been incapacitated by the X-Men."_

"What the hell? How?!"

" _A combination of Storm and Jean Grey."_

That absolutely boggled his mind. "What? I don't understand."

" _A lack of communication that has escalated to violence, it would seem. However, the New Avengers are on the scene as I speak."_

There was that, he supposed. Rambeau was about to earn her pay.

With each second that passed, with every mile he traveled, the closer he got to jumping back into the fray. He had successfully managed to stay away for a year. That was longer than he thought he would manage, but he was happy he did. Even if he knew that one day, something would pull him back in, it was nice to enjoy retirement while he could.

But now, the world and his friends needed Iron Man. And he wasn't about to disappoint.

He received a transmission from SHIELD just as he had cleared Middle Eastern airspace. "Agent."

 _=That's Director Agent to you, Mr. Stark. It isn't looking good.=_ Coulson sounded as grim as Fury.

"Does it ever?"

 _=No. But, it looks especially bad this time. The battleship has been sunk, and there's only one Kree in the area.=_ Just when Tony was about to question how that looked bad, he continued. _=I don't know how, but he's tanking everything everyone is throwing at him. And we're talking about some heavy hitters.=_

That was bad. Very bad. If the likes of Storm, Cyclops, presumably Magneto and whoever he had on his side couldn't do anything, there wasn't much hope for him being able to do much better. "Has Thor gotten here, yet?"

 _=Not from what I can tell, but I'm sure he's on his way.=_

" _Approaching Genoshoan airspace in five minutes,"_ Jocasta announced.

It was do-or-die time. "I'm almost there. I'll check back in once I've assessed the situation."

 _=Roger that. Good luck.=_

He didn't believe in luck; he believed in being prepared. He was, in no way, prepared for what was awaiting him in Genosha.

" _Omega level energy fluctuation detected."_

Tony screeched to a halt. He didn't need Jocasta to tell him anything, as he could easily see it with his own eyes. A tremendous wave of energy exploded outward and engulfed everything. It was moving at an impossible speed, and wasn't dissipating. He rocketed skyward to avoid getting caught up.

He didn't stop until Jocasta gave the word that it was okay. From his high vantage point, he could see the complete and perfect annihilation left in the energy wave's wake. There was nothing left. No land, no water, nothing but an empty space where the island of Genosha and the surround three-hundred-mile radius had occupied. His eyes grew to saucers. "Wha—what the hell was that?!"

" _An unknown energy type."_

The armor's sensors picked up a single life form leaving the scene. It wasn't human, that much was certain. Tony didn't much care what it was at that point. His only concern was if the others managed to survive. His sensors said no, but his heart begged him to check with his own eyes. Silently, he rocketed toward where the island of Genosha once stood.

He had never seen anything like it in his entire life. There was a six-hundred-mile wide hole where the island used to be. It was like a circular waterfall with the way the water was falling into it, he assumed slowly filling it up. He had no idea what kind of effect something like this would have on the environment.

"There's nothing left." His heart shattered. Just like that, his friends were gone. He was minutes too late. If he had left five minutes earlier, maybe he could have made a difference. Not much, but maybe he could have helped them get away.

An anguished cry attracted his attention. His head jerked up and around until he saw Brunnhilda atop her horse twenty yards away. She was closer to the water than he was, her head tilted down as if peering down into the slowly filling hole.

"Val!" he called out.

Her head rose to heed his cry. "Iron Man." Strange. For someone who had just lost her longtime friend, she didn't appear to be at all broken up. If anything, she was more concerned with the absence of the island than anything else. ""Tis as before."

"Before what?" He flew over to her. "What's going on?"

"The souls of Thor and our comrades are absent," she answered promptly. "I see the spirits of mutant and human alike, but not the divine spark of an Asgardian."

He raised an eyebrow. He had no idea how she could tell the difference, or even knew that; but she was the guide to the dead, so he supposed she would know. "So what?"

"So they are still alive." Her face split into a wide grin.

Years ago, he would have scoffed and countered with what he and his sensors could detect, which was nothing. But, as the years went on, he learned that not everything going on could be see with the naked eye or even the highly advanced sensors the Iron Man armor was toting around. "Then, what were you screaming about?"

Her grin lost its luster as shame crept into her features. "I was upset that I arrived too late to aide my shield brother. Mayhap had I showed a mere moments prior, they would still be here."

Somehow, he doubted that. If what Coulson said was true, then she – both of them, really – would have been wiped out along with the others. "Any idea where they are?"

"I know not." He figured that was too much to ask. "And I have no manner to find them right this moment."

Neither did he. But he knew who would. "Follow me, Val. We're going to find our friends."

She nodded and followed after him as quickly as she could.

He led her west, toward southern Africa. If there was one person who would know where they were, it was T'Challa. And if there was one person who could figure out some way to hurt this guy, who apparently couldn't be hurt by their attacks, it was T'Challa.

It only took them a few minutes to reach Wakanda. What they saw when they got there wasn't good. There were five Kree ships hovering over the palace, firing sickly purple and yellow beams at everything that moved. Kree soldiers, dressed in silver uniforms similar to Mahr-Vehl's and armed with energy axes, blades and rifles, were dragging people out of their homes and killing anyone else. Those that were being dragged away, ten in number, were taken aboard a ship that was docked just a few yards from the palace.

T'Challa and three other women in Wakandan battle armor were fending off the Kree as best they could, but they were outnumbered five to one. And, from the looks of it, the Kree were no slouches in the combat department.

Tony rocketed down and shoulder-checked a Kree who was about to hack into T'Challa from behind.

"Mr. Stark? I was not expecting to see you here so quickly," he said. Vibranium knives flew from his hands and sliced through Kree armor with ease, dropping both of their targets. "Your presence is not unappreciated, however."

Tony quickly blasted three more, then fired a small missile into a crowd of Kree that was charging toward them. "You know me, BP. I have to be the life of every party."

"You have a strange definition of a party, Mr. Stark," one of the women said. She and her two companions moved with a speed and ferocity that matched their king. Their vibranium weapons sliced through Kree armor and Kree bones, severing arms and heads all the same.

"I get that a lot."

Valkyrie's spear lanced through the air and through an oncoming Kree, pinning him to the ground. Dragonfang lopped heads from bodies and pierced through the armor the same as the vibranium blades.

Suddenly, the Kree ship that was by the palace lifted off into the air. "There are people on that ship!"

Tony tried to chase after it, but it fired multiple beams at him to keep him at bay until it could get away. They seemed to be coming from every angle, forcing him to make evasive maneuvers. "Damn it! It's gone."

T'Challa sighed. The only ones left outside were them. Everyone else was either dead or in hiding. "They were inhumans."

"How do you know?"

"They dropped a bomb just prior to their attack. I can only assume that it was filled with the terrigen mist that Mahr-Vehl spoke of last year, as a few of my people were trapped in cocoons like granite."

"So, that's how they plan on doing it. Drop a few bombs on a city, then take whoever turns."

"And then kill everyone else," Valkyrie added.

The only positive from this was that the terrigen mist wasn't lethal to non-inhumans like the crystals were. That meant that no one was going to die if they couldn't stop the bombs from dropping. That gave them a little leeway in that all they had to do was stop the Kree from taking those that turned aboard their ships and flying away. "Not sure if you were following what happened on Genosha, but that Kree they were fighting blew up the island and seemingly killed them. Val says they aren't dead, so we need to find them."

T'Challa nodded knowingly. "Yes, I am aware. I saw the attack." Which only showed the magnitude of the attack if someone could see it from several hundred miles away. "I have no means of finding them, but I know who does."

"Who's that?"

"Dr. Strange. In fact, if they are truly still alive, as Valkyrie says, then it was likely him who saved them. I believe, either way, we need to go to him."

Tony felt nervous just being in the same general vicinity as Strange. Actually being in his house was going to be unbearable. "Okay. Let's go." He really, really hated magic.


	23. Sanctum

_**Sanctum**_

 _Ronan raised his warhammer above his head. "I have grown bored of your futile resistance. Your interference ends now!" Despite the booming voice with which his declaration is spoken, the proceeding action didn't measure up. He merely tapped the ground with the head of his weapon._

 _The result, however, was anything but disappointing._

 _A purple wave expanded from his central point at a frightening speed. It overtook the heroes before any of them had a chance to even think of mounting any kind of defense._

 _The energy that filled their crevices and threatened to rip them apart atom by atom felt old. Ancient, even. It was more powerful than any of them had encountered._

 _Such was the frightening potential of an infinity gem. Nothing stood in its way. The island was completely disintegrated, and everyone on it killed instantly. Blinding purple light lit up the sky, choking out the ambient moon and stars._

 _The wave of devastation continued unhindered until it naturally fizzled out. Nothing remained for miles. Nothing but a deafening silence. The world had taken notice of the power the Kree Supreme Accuser wielded, and could find nothing to say._

* * *

Nothing. There was nothing but white as far as the eye could see. It was as if they were all floating in some kind of purgatorial abyss. Avengers and X-Men, everyone who had been present right before Ronan's attack was there.

"Am I dead?" Peter asked. His voice echoed in the vast expanse of nothing that surrounded him. "And why does heaven smell like a wet dog?"

Logan, who was standing next to him, growled irritably.

"Oh wait. Never mind."

He really hoped that he wasn't dead. There was no telling how Aunt May was going to unravel when she found out. It was times like this that he hated being Spider-Man. When and if something happened to him, his family suffered. It was a miracle that he had been able to keep his secret from Aunt May for so long. If he really was dead, then that went right out the window.

"Greetings Avengers, X-Men," a male voice floated in from seemingly everywhere. Then, the spiritual form of Dr. Strange materialized before them.

At seeing Dr. Strange, Peter felt at ease. He didn't know how, but he knew that he had saved them once again. "Doc. Am I glad to see you."

Strange nodded. "Indeed. I very nearly wasn't able to save you all in time. But, I wasn't able to save everyone. I am truly sorry for that."

Cyclops nodded slowly, then glanced around him. "Thank you. But, where are we?"

"A pocket dimension. For the time being, you all are safe here to recuperate and regroup."

"Can someone please explain what the hell is going on?!" Rogue screeched. "What the hell were those things? And what was up with that guy with the hammer?"

"It is a Kree invasion, led by Ronan, the 'guy with the hammer'," Strange explained. He waved his hand around; in conjunction with the movement, the landscape shifted drastically. Gone was the never-ending white void, replaced with a futuristic looking world. Silver pods zipped to and fro all around them. Pink, purple and blue skinned Kree walked about, going about their daily routines. The heroes were unseen.

"They are a race of extraterrestrial beings, like the Shi'ar, who conquer planet after planet to add to their already expansive empire. I suspect that they plan on conquering this planet, as it is the only one where they have had any success in their experimentations. Those experiments produced an altered subset of humanity called the Inhumans. Similar in many ways to mutants, their powers are triggered through exposure to the mists created by terrigen crystals. Ronan plans on taking as many Inhumans with him back to Hala. For what, I'm not sure, but it won't be good."

"In addition," Thor spoke, "Ronan wields an infinity gem, an ancient artifact created during the universe's infancy."

"How many of these infinity gems are there?" Beast asked curiously.

"Six. Power, reality, time, space, mind, and soul. Each one powerful in their own right; together, the user would be omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient."

"So, they'd be like god," Kitty concluded. When Thor nodded, she sighed. "Great. This Ronan guy has one of these?"

"Aye, the power gem. It has multiplied his strength a hundredfold. There is nothing any of us can do to stop him."

"Not true," Jean countered. "He doesn't appear to have any defense against my telepathy. I think I can take him down if I have enough time."

" _If_ being the operative word there," Peter said. "Seriously, that guy was a tank. Not even Thor's Swiss army hammer could make a dent."

"Indeed," Thor agreed, though it didn't sound like he appreciated it being pointed out.

"If we take the gem thingy from him, will that work?" Jubilee asked.

"Aye. Once he has been separated from the gem, he will return to his normal levels."

"That, of course, is much easier said than done," Beast intoned. "But, it must be done if we are to defeat him and the Kree."

To think, there was a time when Peter thought the worst thing out there was a deranged lunatic on a glider throwing pumpkin bombs at people. How young and naïve he was back then. Now, there are alien armies and ancient space rocks that could turn people into gods. It boggled the mind how much stuff was out there, some of it right under his nose.

"Thor, you said that these infinity gems were created when the universe was still in its infancy, correct?"

Thor nodded at Beast. "Aye. By who, however, I am uncertain."

"I, on the other hand, do know," Strange said. Once again, he waved his hands. Hala dissolved from the scape, replaced with the pitch black expanse of space. White stars twinkled brightly in the faraway distance. "In the beginning, there was only one being in the entire universe: Nemesis." A lone being floated aimlessly in the darkness of space. It was female in appearance, with smooth purple skin and long hair that was as black and sparkling as the deep cosmos around it. Its clothing was white and gold; the crown on its head was gold and had six gems embedded in it. "Because of its loneliness, it shattered itself, creating the infinity gems and much of the multiverse."

"Multive—you know what? Never mind."

"It was omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. When it shattered itself into the six gems, each gem took on a different facet of its power." The infinity gems appeared around Strange. The purple power gem, crimson reality gem, yellow mind gem, blue space gem, green soul gem and orange time gem. "What Thor says is true. Once all six gems are used in unison, the user will gain all of Nemesis' power."

It was like a real life godmode cheat. "Any chance Ronan wants the gems for himself?"

"There is always that possibility, but I am not sure. However, there are rumors that Ronan has allied himself with Thanos." Just the mention of his name sent a chill down Peter's spine.

"Who?"

"Thanos, the Mad Titan, is a being of immense power. I do not know the depths of his power, but based on what I have heard, everything Ronan can do with the power gem, Thanos can do _without_ it. He was born on Titan—"

"Saturn's moon?" Storm asked.

Strange nodded. "Yes, he was born in our galaxy. One of his first acts of evil was killing his own mother, and conquering his own people. From there, he only spiraled deeper into the depths of darkness. Wherever he goes, whatever planet he steps foot on, people die. The only thing that surpasses his love of conquest is his love of Death."

At that, Peter raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, dare I ask?"

"He is in love with Death."

"…what?"

"You mortals believe death as a concept, an eventuality that befalls all living creatures," Thor said. "But, in reality, Death is a sapient being, whose power extends to all living creatures. 'Tis she who calls man when his time on this mortal plane has come to an end. 'Tis she who provides gods and goddess such as Hela, Hades, Anubis, Osiris, and Thanatos their power to command the dead. 'Tis she who acts as the Grim Reaper of your modern legends. And 'tis she who has captured the Mad Titan's affection."

"Death… is an actual person?"

"Aye."

Peter thought that all of infinity gem stuff was mind-blowing; yet, somehow, all of that paled in comparison to what he had just heard. Death was an actual person. Not an eventuality, as Thor put it, that was waiting at the end of the line. The foremost was if Death kept a record of all the times she was cheated. Managing to escape certain death had become a hobby of his, sad to say; it would have been pretty awkward to finally meet this person and have her demand his soul because he owed her a few. "…okay. Continue."

"I know this is a great deal to take in," Strange said apologetically.

"That's puttin' it lightly," Rogue muttered.

He nodded. "But, you need to be brought up to speed so you aren't blindsided by the things to come. Thanos will be making his move shortly, and you need to be prepared."

"What's the point?" Bobbi asked. "From the sound of it, he can kick our asses all at once without breaking a sweat."

"He can," Strange confirmed. "Which is why you need to know this now, so you can spend this time preparing for him. He is coming." He glanced at Vision. "Once he learns that the mind gem is powering the Vision, he will come."

There was an alien invasion happening right then, and then there was this beast on the horizon. It never ended. No matter what obstacle they crossed to save the world, another insurmountable one stepped up to test them again. He figured they were due, since the last year had been without any major incidents, but still.

"There is still an invasion right now," Storm said after several minutes of tense silence, "so we cannot focus on that right now. For now, we need to concentrate on defeating the Kree and saving the inhumans."

Heads nodded in agreement.

"Do they have any weaknesses?" Scott Summers asked.

"Their suits are equipped with a special apparatus that allows them to breathe in Midgard's atmosphere," Thor answered. "If we can remove it or damage it, they will suffocate."

"Does the same apply to Ronan?"

"Aye, I would imagine so."

"Then we have a strategy. Once we get out of here, we need to get started right away."

"Agreed. But hark, settle your issues with the Avengers betimes. We cannot afford any infighting as we yede forward."

Scott nodded slowly, mostly because he didn't understand much of what Thor had just said. "Alright. We'll handle that when they wake up."

Thor nodded. "Very well." He nodded to Dr. Strange. "Doctor, 'tis time for us to return to Midgard so we can begin."

"As you wish. Good luck, my friends."


	24. Reassembly

**_Reassembly_**

 **Sanctum Sanctorum, New York, New York**

 **11:35 PM**

The building before them was an anomaly. All around them, the modern buildings of Manhattan towered majestically. The sights, sounds and even smells of the modern world bombarded their senses. It was a literal cornucopia of modern innovation. The Sanctum Sanctorum, however, was the exact opposite. It looked very much like something out of the early 1600s. It was a startling juxtaposition.

It was very much like something out of an old black and white horror movie. The only thing stranger than finding it in the middle of Manhattan was the fact that it was _not_ found at the top of a hill under a permanent storm pitch black cloud.

"I've always hated this place," Tony admitted. "It looks haunted."

T'Challa hummed in agreement. "Regardless, we will not be able to collaborate with our allies from out here."

He was afraid he would say that. "If you insist. Royalty first."

T'Challa shook his head and walked toward the front door. Before he could knock, the door opened. A bald, middle-aged Asian man was watching them knowingly. "Mr. Stark. Your Highness. Valkyrie. We have been expecting you. I am Wong, manservant of Dr. Strange. If you will please come this way, he should be here shortly."

That wasn't weird at all. "Alrighty then." His armor liquefied and shifted into a Black Sabbath t-shirt, jeans and simple sneakers.

"Interesting armor, Tony," T'Challa complimented. "Nanomachines?"

"Yeah huh. I can store them in my body and mentally call them up when I need to suit up." He then looked at Panther skeptically. "Is that a hint of jealousy I detect in your body posture?"

He chuckled. "I assure you, it is not, my friend."

"What good will your armor do within your flesh, Iron Man? Is it not more prudent to constantly have it on in this time of turmoil?"

He considered her as a fully grown adult would a small child. "I _do_ have it on." He popped his shirt collar. "My armor can change into anything I need it to. Other armors, weapons, and _clothes_."

It was clear she didn't understand how that was possible, but nodded anyway. "I understand. So, 'tis a shapeshifting armor."

Or, she understood completely. "Yeah. You could say that."

"Dr. Strange is currently bringing your friends up to speed. They should be back shortly."

So, they _were_ still alive. Tony restrained his relieved sigh, not wanting Brunnhilda to think he doubted her. But, he was always the kind to need to see something for himself before he believed it. "Great. We know that there's a Kree invasion going on as we speak, and they're dropping bombs on cities to turn potential inhumans so they could beam them up onto their ships and anally probe them. Anything else?"

"I am uncertain what Ronan wants with the inhumans," Brunnhilda said unsurely, "but I am certain _that_ is not his intention."

"That you know of."

"Well… Ronan also has the power gem in his possession. That is why he is so powerful."

"Power gem?"

"One of the infinity gems," Wong answered.

A cold dread settled down in Tony's chest. They were going to be hard-pressed to make a dent in Ronan, let alone actually do anything substantive. "Okay. Let's wait to hear what Strange has to say."

Wong led them into a large living room. There were three sofas and several large chairs. Mystical artifacts were on display all over the room; each one of them looked like they contained untold levels of power.

Tony eyed them all warily while easing down on one of the sofas. "Can they hurry up so we can get out of here?"

"I would think a man of science would find sorcery intriguing," Brunnhilda said with a wry smile. "'Tis a science that you do not understand, after all."

To that, Tony cocked his head back. "Uh, yeah. I'm pretty sure sorcery is just a medieval word for magic."

"I am certain that Thor has told you this several times, but it bears repeating. In times past, your ancestors would consider what you call science today magic. Mortals have the tendency to characterize incorrectly what they do not understand. Once your understanding grows, then you will see what I mean."

He really doubted that. "We'll see."

"We shall indeed, Mr. Stark." A bright flash of light filled the room, briefly blinding the room's four occupants. It faded quickly, revealing Dr. Strange, along with the heroes that were on Genosha. "I'm glad to see you four here. We can proceed quickly."

Tony was elated to see his friends and colleagues still alive. Valkyrie was right. He didn't know how, but she was right. Looking them over, they didn't appear to be any worse for wear. Which was impressive, considering who they had to go up against. Or more like what they had to go up against. Ronan was a force of nature as far as he was concerned. "Glad to see you guys are alright."

"Surprised to see you here, Tony," Rhodey said. His armor retracted from around him, allowing him to walk over and sit next to him.

"Really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. "You know I said I'd come out of retirement if you guys needed me, right? That Ronan guy has an infinity gem, so, yeah."

"I meant _here._ Thought you were scared of magic."

What a ridiculous notion. He wasn't _scared_ of anything – space, water, and enclosed spaces notwithstanding. "That right there shows how little you know, Colonel," he stated dismissively.

The smirk Rhodey had been carrying increased ever so slightly.

"Ororo, my queen. It fills my heart with joy to see you alive and well," T'Challa said before gently kissing Storm's hand.

Were her skin not as dark, they would have seen her cheeks grow crimson. "I… it is quite good to see you again, T'Challa," she replied with unusual shyness.

"I wish a guy would talk to me like that," Monica muttered.

"Tell me about it," Jubilee agreed.

"I hope you have some kind of anti-Kree spray in your utility belt, BP," Peter said hopefully.

"According to the tests run on Mahr-Vehl during his captivity at Hydra, Kree are immune to all earthbound toxins," he replied. "However, it appears that they are incapable to breathing in the air in our atmosphere without a special apparatus. We should use that to our advantage."

"Yeah, Doc already told us about that."

Tony could tell just by the way he spoke that Peter wasn't comfortable with asphyxiating the Kree as a quick means of taking them out. While he could appreciate a young man with as strong morals as Peter had, this wasn't the time to find means of safe incapacitation and these were the people to try anyway. "Any idea where this apparatus is located?"

T'Challa regarded Peter briefly, possibly thinking the same as Tony, before answering. "In their headpiece. From what I can gather, it works by forming a sheer field around their mouth and nose that functions in a similar fashion as gills."

"So, all we have to do is pull their masks off and they won't be able to breathe?"

"I imagine so."

Tony nodded and clapped his hands together. "Then, we have a plan. Given this is a global invasion, we need to split ourselves up into teams and move out simultaneously."

"Good idea, Tony."

Everyone looked up, startled by the new voice. It was Steve, still blackened by Storm's onslaught. His face showed that he wasn't very happy about it. Carol, Jen, and Pietro were standing behind him.

The tension in the room quadrupled, whereas just seconds ago, there had been none at all.

Thor quickly stood to dissuade any hostile actions before they could happen. "My friends. I beg you to hold fast to your tempers until we have had a moment to explain what has come to pass."

"Yeah, Marvel's friends are here and killing people."

Any anger that had been visible on Steve's face evaporated as he looked from Thor to Tony. "The Kree? Now?"

They nodded.

"Damn it."

"Genosha was destroyed and they have already taken at least ten inhumans that were present in Wakanda, Captain. I would strongly suggest that you set aside whatever strife you have with the X-Men, for the greater good of the planet."

For Steve, it didn't require any thought. "Fine."

Carol, on the other, snarled angrily and stormed off.

Rogue started to go after her, but Logan stopped her. "Ain't a good idea, kid."

Tony didn't know what that was all about, but he did know that it had a lot more to do than the two of them fighting very recently. Rogue, to his knowledge, was one of the younger X-Men. Maybe the two of them had a run-in in the past. Whatever it was, it wasn't any of his business.

"There are ten more ships we have to deal with," Monica said. "So, we need ten teams, maybe?"

He did a quick headcount. Including those that were still unconscious, there were thirty-four of them in the room. Assuming that Dr. Strange wasn't going to help them, that meant they could only have ten teams of three with four left over. He hadn't fought a Kree before since Mahr-Vehl, but he knew that wasn't going to be enough. Especially considering that some of the Avengers didn't have any powers or super armors.

"If at all possible, Spectrum, perhaps you and Thor can go by yourselves," Beast suggested. "I have no doubt that you both are able to handle yourselves well enough without the aid of others, who would be better served bolstering other teams."

The two in question glanced at one another, then nodded agreeably. "Good doctor, I find no fault in your logic. If the Captain agrees, then I shall do as you instructed."

"Yeah, what he said."

"I shall be enlisting the Wakandan army to aid you both, if only to prevent any inhumans from being taken while you are too preoccupied with the Kree," T'Challa said.

Steve nodded. "If you're both okay with that, then fine. That means we have thirty-two people to split between eight invasion fronts."

"Standard strike team, Cap," Tony said. Meaning at least one flier, two with some kind of ranged ability and one with leadership experience. "Ideally, we should be able to get by with four to a team. Maybe three, depending on who's on the team."

"Magneto and Polaris can handle two of those battleships by themselves," Cyclops stated. "That leaves thirty between six fronts."

The X-Men had plenty of heavy hitters. More than the Avengers, actually. They're heavy hitters hit harder, but the X-Men had more of them. Between Jean and her telepathy, Storm and her control over the weather, Magneto's ferrokinesis, and some of the other powers, they had a good chance of ending this invasion quickly. How many people they could save depended on how quickly they got started. If what they saw in Wakanda was any indication, they were going to be in for a very long day.

There were ten Kree battleships the world over that needed to be destroyed. After a few quick moments of discussion, they decided on the teams.

Thor

Spectrum

Magneto

Polaris

Captain America, Rogue, Beast, Kitty Pryde, Hawkeye

Black Widow, Jean Grey, Wolverine, Ant-Man, Falcon

Iron Fist, Power Man, War Machine, She-Hulk, Vision

Ms. Marvel, Scarlet Witch, Jubilee, Wasp, Black Panther

Mockingbird, Mystique, Iron Man, Gambit, Sabretooth

Cyclops, Quicksilver, Spider-Man, Valkyrie, Storm

The teams were set. If anyone had any grievances – and the three teaming with Mystique and Sabretooth had plenty – there wasn't any time to discuss them in length. Time was of the essence and lives were on the line.

"I will now transport each team to an invasion site," Strange stated. Dark purplish energies swirled around his hands. "Good luck, my friends. I wish I could give you more help, but I am needed elsewhere."

Steve nodded. "Understood. Thank you, Doctor. You've done more than enough."

There wasn't anyone in that room happier to get out of there than Tony. Just being there gave him the creeps.

In just a few short moments, he was going to be officially back in the hero game. Temporarily, he was sure; just as he was sure that there was going to be quite a bit of rust on his instincts. He just hoped that it was like riding a bicycle. One never really forgot how, just needed to brush up on the necessary skills. No better way to brush off the rust than during an alien invasion.

On the plus side, he had never worked with the X-Men before. What better way to start than by teaming with a backstabbing sociopath and a bloodthirsty bezerker? "Ready?" he asked Bobbi.

"Nope." She gave the blue shape-shifter a suspicious sidelong look. "I don't have to tell you that I don't trust them, right?"

"What? You don't trust the woman who chooses her morality by flipping a coin?" As strange as it was to think, he had a feeling they could trust them just this one time. Everyone's life was at stake. They were all going to need to cooperate if the world was going to be saved. "Call me crazy, but I think we can depend on them."

She looked like she was seriously considering calling him crazy, but held her tongue on that front. Instead, she said, "I hope you're right."

Danny went around and healed those that were struck by Storm's lightning. Soon, everyone was up and running at their peak levels.

Clint walked up and gave Bobbi a quick peck on the cheek. "Good luck. Be careful out there." He eyed Mystique and Sabretooth warily. "We may be working with them," he whispered, "but don't be afraid to tase a bitch if she gets any ideas."

She snickered quietly. "Thanks for the suggestion, but I have something a little more," she patted the glock on her hip, "permanent in mind."

"This is why I love you, babe."

"Trust me, I know."

"Trust me, we all do," Tony said snidely. Despite his usual joking nature, he was just as wary of Mystique as Clint and Bobbi. And it wasn't just because he was forced to work with her for the good of the planet.

The woman just couldn't be trusted. Just as quickly as she would stab a Kree, she would stab him. And that was on any average day. Today, she seemed angrier than usual. And he had a feeling that it had nothing to do with having to fight alongside the very people she had been trying to kill just hours earlier. He just hoped he was right about being able to depend on her. He really only said it in case she could hear them.

"Good luck to you, Mr. Stark."

He nodded graciously. "Same to you, Your Highness." He glanced at Mystique for the third time in as many minutes. She was still glaring daggers at one or more of the Avengers. More specifically, the New Avengers. Interesting. "Any idea what her problem is?"

He nodded gravely. "Your former companion, Gene Khan, created a new breed of sentinel a few years ago. When the Masters of Evil were defeated, Bolivar Trask was given the sentinel program back. Those new sentinels killed several X-Men, including Mystique's son, Nightcrawler."

His heart sunk. He didn't know she had any children, let alone any that she cared about. "I didn't know. But, what do the Avengers have to do with that?"

"They… we fought those advanced sentinels several times. After the Masters were defeated, we intended on telling the X-Men, but nearly all of them were in space at the time. By the time they returned, the Hydra reveal occurred, then Ultron. By that point, it had slipped even my mind." T'Challa shook his head sadly. "It is no excuse, but that is the reason. At least in my case."

From his perspective, that was fair. They had been busy trying to stay on top of a secret Hydra invasion, a gifted civil war, and Ultron trying to commit global genocide. From Mystique's perspective, though, none of that mattered.

Tony didn't have any kids, but a small part of him felt bad for her. He didn't know how many children she had, but he couldn't imagine losing one. Even if she was just about as evil as they came, she didn't deserve that kind of pain. "I would offer some condolences, but I'm afraid she might stab me."

Despite the nature of the conversation, T'Challa chuckled. "Indeed. She is quite the volatile woman. Fortunately, she is your problem now."

"Lucky me."

"I know y'all ain't talking bad about my mama."

 _Well, someone needs to stop skipping grammar day._ "Wait, she's _your_ mother, too?"

"That's right. Well, adoptive mama, anyway. But, it still counts, and you two better stop talking about her! Calling her volatile and that she be stabbing folks and what not."

"But is she not volatile?"

"And doesn't she stab people?"

"Well… yeah, but…"

"Ignore them, dear." The devil sauntered toward the people holding a very unsubtle conversation about her. "Is there something you'd like to say to me, Stark?"

He swallowed nervously and took a careful look at the blue woman. The only thing more unnerving that her soulless yellow eyes was the butterfly knife strapped to her thigh. "Yes, but I would like to say it after I've put my armor on."

She smirked and slithered around him like a poisonous serpent. Nothing was said. Nothing needed to be said. He got the message loud and clear. She wasn't to be trusted, and she knew that. It was an odd weapon to use to her advantage, but it was an effective one at that.

"Back off, Mystique," Carol said brusquely. From her powerwalk toward them, it looked like she was about to beat the brakes off of someone.

Mystique snorted derisively. "I'm surprised you still remember my name, Danvers."

T'Challa interposed himself between them before it could escalate any further. "Major Danvers, we should prepare ourselves.

When Tony gestured to suggest if he knew what that was all about, T'Challa could only shrug.

"Stay sharp out there, everyone," Cyclops said as one final bit of encouragement. "Watch each other's backs. Regardless of what's happened in the past, we need each other on this."

"I'll be watching your back _very_ carefully."

Something sharp poked Tony in the back. He nearly jumped into T'Challa's arms. "Uh. Thanks." _Well, here we go._


	25. Humanity's Counterattack

_**Humanity's Counterattack**_

 **Paris, France – 12:35 AM EST**

Luke and his team were instantly teleported from the Sanctum Sanctorum to the downtown district of Paris, France. The City of Lights had been swallowed whole by absolute chaos. Kree ships zipped across the sky, dropping laser ordinance on the terrified people below them. Kree foot soldiers hacked the French civilians that got in their way to pieces with their advanced alien weaponry. They wielded advanced looking guns that completely had the Paris police overwhelmed.

"The French Air Force is in route, but they're still ten minutes out. Sounds like the attack just started," Rhodey reported. His thrusters activated, lifting him into the air. "I'm going to draw the ships' fire. Work on the ground forces."

Vision floated upward alongside him. _"I will go with you, Colonel. I believe I can destroy the ships much faster than you can."_

There was no braggadocio; it was spoken matter-of-factly. Even still, Rhodey took it as a challenge. "We'll see about that." He rocketed into the sky, guns blazing and missile silos at the ready to rain hell on the Kree ships.

Vision watched him with a curious expression before zipping after him.

Luke had the trusty crowbar that he managed to snag when they apprehended the Wrecking Crew so long ago. He also had four of his teammates at his side. Unlike the other teams, his was the only one comprised entirely of Avengers. There was something to be said about fighting with people he knew and trusted implicitly. Nothing against the X-Men – they were all great at what they did – but they weren't the Avengers.

The three heroes stuck on the ground – Luke, Danny and Jen – charged headlong into a throng of Kree soldiers that was close to twenty deep.

The Kree were much stronger than normal humans. Police officers and brave civilians were sent flying by casual backhands or boots to the midsection. Many of them didn't get back up. Whatever superheroes living in the area were able to fend off the Kree, and even take a few down; unfortunately, they were completely lost as to why they were actually there.

Danny led the way to the first wave of Kree invaders, with Luke and Jen not far behind him. Out of the corner of his eye, Luke noticed what looked like several granite cocoons across the street. "The hell?"

"There are people in those cocoons!" Danny reported. He veered off to engage the Kree waiting on those cocoons to hatch.

"Damn it! Those must be the inhumans."

The Kree were much stronger than normal humans, but their alien strength paled in comparison to Luke and Jen. The two easily knocked away two or three at a time. Their armor, which appeared to be made of some kind of liquid metal, provided very little protection from their enhanced blows. Their alien weaponry, more powerful than most human weaponry outside of the most exotic, did little more than singe their skin.

Kree fell in swaths. The streets were littered with unmoving bodies and exotic weapons that no one had the guts to try and pick up to use. The one man who did didn't last very long before he was on the pavement, legs twisted every which way like a fallen tree branch. Their suspicions about the Kree weapons being genetically keyed were right, which only added another layer of necessary caution when proceeding forward.

By the time Jen and Luke finished with the sixteen that comprised the first wave, Danny had carved his way through twenty on his own. The granite cocoons were starting to break apart, revealing that there were in fact people trapped inside. Some of them looked normal; others didn't. They all had some kind of fantastic power that was lashing out as soon as they broke free of their black confines.

Danny had to leap out of the way to avoid being bombarded by fire, ice, electricity and whatever else the terrigen bomb produced. "They've already changed."

"So, that's how it's done."

 _=SHIELD is inbound,=_ Rhodey reported. _=Shouldn't be more than another five minutes.=_

"Tell them that we just need them to get these new inhumans to safety. Once the Kree find out they're free, it'll be open season."

No sooner had Luke spoke, his words came true.

"The abominations are ready!" one shouted to his comrades.

Those four words seemed to be a clarion call for all nearby Kree. Dozens of them poured in from every corner, every nook and cranny.

"Oh goddamn it." He sprinted as fast as he could to intercept the oncoming invaders. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw what looked like a transport ship approaching from his left. "Is that SHIELD?"

His answer came in the form of the ship firing on him and Jen. "Nope."

They dove headfirst into a group of Kree. Fists and an enchanted crowbar trumped whatever melee or ranged weapons that were raised against them. Kree went flying left and right, despite their best efforts to bring down the two human sized tanks.

Danny was having similar success. He was the lone line of defense between the newly hatched inhumans and the Kree that wanted to take them away. They, scared and confused, huddled closely together against the building behind them.

Some of their powers lashed out by accident. One let loose a fire ball when she raised her hands to fend off a Kree that wanted to bash her head in with a silver mace. The blast was so intense that it roasted not only him, but the one that was coming up behind him to back him up.

These people were dangerous. They were just average, everyday people who very suddenly became walking weapons. They needed to be kept in a safe place until they were taught how to handle their abilities. The Avengers didn't know of such a place. Xavier's Institute only specialized in mutants, though the differences between mutants and humans were miniscule, at best.

"SHIELD transport is still a few minutes out. We need to hold out until then!" Luke was feeling optimistic. He and Jen had proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the Kree were no match for them. The same with Danny. They hadn't heard from either Vision or Rhodey, but the number of ships above had dwindled, so he assumed they weren't having too much trouble. As long as Ronan remained somewhere else, they had a chance.

Up above them, Rhodey and Vision were doing all they could to nix the Kree's air support. The ships were tougher than they looked. Though they were small, .50 caliber bullets from Rhodey's Gatling gun bounced right off of them. Luckily for him, repulsor rays and missiles worked just fine. Not to mention the plasma blade he recently had installed in his armor. It cut through ships like a hot knife through butter.

"That's forty-three," Rhodey said, mostly to himself.

" _You're keeping count,"_ Vision noted, confusion coloring his words.

"Yes, so we can have a general idea of what the others will be dealing with." It wasn't a complete lie.

" _I see."_ The red-skinned synthezoid turned intangible and flew quickly through half a dozen ships. The ships' electronics fizzled out, causing them to die on the spot and careen into the streets below. _"Forty-four."_

His face soured. It wasn't right to make this a competition between the two of them. They were both trying to accomplish the same goal, which was to stop the Kree from taking the inhumans for whatever they wanted them for. There was no need to keep score, since there was nothing to gloat about. The mission would be completed, then it was back to Strange's place to await the next one.

Not to mention he had to be focused so he could get this done was quickly as possible. They still had to allocate as much firepower as possible to take down the warship. It hadn't been a presence in the battle so far, but that could change at any moment. "Jo, how far out is SHIELD?"

" _Four minutes, Colonel,"_

The important question wasn't how long until they got there, but what would they be able to do once they did. Even though a year had passed since it was revealed that Hydra had infiltrated SHIELD right at the beginning, the organization still wasn't what it used to be. They were a mere fraction of their previous size, and had only a portion of the firepower.

Whatever they could bring would be a big help.

Preferably a nuke or two. And maybe some crazy Hydra weapon or something.

Speaking of, he wondered if Hydra – what was left of it, that was – and AIM were going to be lending them a hand. This was their home, too. He already knew that one, or maybe both, of them was going to try and take advantage of all the chaos; but they couldn't take advantage if there was nothing left.

" _Colonel Rhodes, perhaps it would be a wise strategy to bottle neck the ships,"_ Vision suggested. _"There is a tunnel two hundred meters east."_

He nodded, then activated his thrusters in that direction. To his fortune, the ships followed him. "Jo, get the cluster missiles ready."

" _Yes, Colonel. The tunnel is clear of human life. Calculating best firing solution."_

A green, winding tube appeared on his HUD. He followed it exactly until he entered the tunnel. As soon as he passed the midway point inside the tunnel, he whirled around and fired every missile his suit was armed with. The initial wave of ships following him were engulfed in flames, obscuring the ships after them. The missile volley continued for a few more seconds until his supply was spent.

Vision flew in from the rear and let loose with his mind gem. The gold beam lanced through the ships, destroying them on contact.

Jocasta did one final sweep of the city to confirm that all the ships had been destroyed. _"The only Kree ship remaining is the warship, Colonel."_

That was good. Danny, Luke and Jen could handle the ground soldiers. He wasn't sure if Vision could handle the warship on his own. "Any ideas on how to take down that warship, Vision?"

" _Not at present, no. I am certain that brute strength is not an option."_

That was obvious. There was no doubt that the other ships saw what Magneto was able to do to the first warship and made adjustments. Shielding was a definite. "Maybe an EMP?"

" _Assuming they have an electrical system similar to ours, yes, that should work."_

It was worth a shot. "Then, we'll give it a shot. Jo, prepare an EMP."

" _Yes, Colonel. The French Air Force is currently engaging the warship."_

He could hear the explosions in the background. When he turned to assess the situation, he saw fighter jets being shot out of the sky with systematic accuracy. The thrusters of his suit ignited, propelling him at top speed toward the dog fight. "Take out the cannons so the fighter jets don't get shot out of the sky!"

Instead of responding verbally, Vision raced after him.

Rhodey knew that bullets weren't going to do any good, so he opted to attack the warship up close with his plasma blade. The three-foot-long ion arm-sword sliced through the ship's laser cannons like a knife through butter. A little resistance, but not enough to slow him down. Jocasta did her job keeping him out of any adjacent firing solutions.

" _I am going inside to find any potentially exploitable weaknesses."_ Vision remarked before he turned intangible to do exactly that.

While he didn't feel comfortable with him going in by himself, Rhodey was confident that he could take care of himself. Besides, these laser cannons were more than enough reason to worry about himself.

He kept doing what he could with his plasma blade, ultimately realizing that he was only buying Vision time to scope the ship out.

" _Weakness detected,"_ Jocasta chimed after several long moments. _"Vision has detected the main power source. It is not electrical, but appears to be some kind of chemical reaction; not unlike a nuclear reactor. He is attempting to disable it as I speak."_

"In that case, tell the Air Force to clear out. I'll worry about the people on the ground."

While she did that, he rocketed down to where the others were still fight back Kree. He fired off several repulsor blasts to clear a path, then touched down beside them. "Vision is about to bring down the warship. We need to make sure the streets are clear."

"Not too many people left besides the military. Anyone speak French?" Luke responded.

"I do," Jen answered. When met with curious looks, she shrugged. "Being a multilingual civil attorney puts me ahead of the rest." Her feet pounded the pavement, literally, to carry her to where the French soldiers were fighting off Kree soldiers. Danny, Luke and Rhodey kept the Kree at bay while she informed the Frenchmen of the situation. They took one glance at the massive ship above them, then beat a hasty retreat.

"They're going to tell their friends to back off," she told them.

"Good. Now, let's get the hell out of here ourselves before –"

Before Luke could finish, what he was about to warn against happened. A massive golden beam of energy burst through the hull of the warship. It shifted skyward, cutting cleanly through the alien metal and cutting the ship almost in half.

Another beam of energy erupted through the stern and streak over the horizon. A loud hum echoed through the silent sky just before it exploded, sending flaming pieces raining down for miles. The explosion was deafening and knocked everyone, including the heroes, off their feet. Windows miles away shattered from the shockwave.

Molten metal rained down on the city of Paris. It was a horrible way to end the battle. "Damn it." With the increased emphasis on superhuman collateral damage, someone was sure to use this against them. Even though they saved millions of people, including dozens who were very close to being abducted, there was always someone who saw only the negative.

Some said it was their job to see the negative; Rhodey disagreed. They saved Paris. That was all that should have mattered.

A minute later, the molten pieces of the Kree warship stopped falling. Soon after, Vision floated serenely to where the Avengers had been taking cover. _"I apologize for the mess."_

"Nothing that can't be cleaned up," Danny said. You did a great job up there. Are you alright?"

" _Yes, I am uninjured. I do not detect any more casualties than the ones prior to our arrival, but Jocasta should do a scan to be sure."_

" _As you wish, Vision."_ A moment later, she was able to confirm his original assessment.

Clay Quartermain led five other SHIELD agents off a quinjet that landed a few yards away. "Wow. You guys sure made a mess. Good job."

"'Bout time you guys showed up."

"We didn't wanna get in the way. Where are the mutants?"

"Inhumans. And they're over here." Jen jabbed her thumb over her shoulder toward a building next to the one they had been hiding in.

"Eh, same difference." He cocked his head toward his agents and headed to gather up the inhumans.

"Hey," Luke called after them, "be careful. They're jittery."

Quartermain nodded sharply.

They were reasonably sure the SHIELD agents could handle themselves. This was right in their wheelhouse. While they were handling that, the Avengers decided to go around and help anyone who needed it. It was the least they could do.


	26. Thunder's Rage

_**Thunder's Rage**_

 **Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – 12:35 AM EST**

In an instant, Thor was teleported from Dr. Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum to the largest city in Brazil. Above the watchful gaze of the statue of the Christ, the Kree invasion was already well underway. Space vessels roared from one side of the city to the other in seconds. Mauve beams of energy erupted from the cannons mounted on their stern; each eruption coincided with something down below being engulfed in a fiery explosion.

Thor floated serenely for but a moment to assess the situation. There were dozens of ships, and possibly hundreds of Kree soldiers dragging Brazilian mortals out of their homes. He knew not to expect the Wakanda army for at least a few minutes; so until they arrived, he was on his own.

So be it.

Thor's anger had been simmering since the moment he returned to Midgard. Seeing Ronan and his fellow Kree soldiers attacking the very soil that he swore to protect was an affront to the Asgardian prince. An affront that he would not forgive.

The Thunder God let loose a mighty, harrowing roar; a primal battle cry that sufficiently heralded his oncoming wrath. Pitch black storm clouds formed over the embattled city in a matter of seconds. Thunder rolled and roared violently, loud enough to shake and even shatter what glass windows were still intact during the battle. Winds beyond the most powerful hurricanes erupted from the sky, knocking Kree ships off their flight paths and sending them careening into buildings. Cars on the streets below were tossed around like metal tumbleweeds.

The heavens opened up, letting loose its fury in the form of a torrential downpour. Practically a wall of water fell on the city at that moment. Any civilians on the streets, either those being taken by the Kree or fighting them off, were forced to retreat inside. The Kree had no such options. With supernaturally powerful winds had swept their ships away, so they had no means of escape.

To make matters worse for them, localized earthquakes shook the ground they were standing on. Each one was as powerful as a ten on the Richter scale, but limited to the invaders so none of the buildings so much as flinched.

"What is happening?!" one of them cried in fear. It was as if the very planet had turned against them.

It had. The Son of Gaea had called, and she answered.

Lighting flashed across the sky, arced through the sky and pierces multiple Kree ships at once. More powerful than normal lightning produced by nature, Thor's lightning destroyed the Kree ships with ease.

"What is happening?" Thor responded as the heavens rained hell down on the Kree. "Your penance. The moment you and your kind stepped foot on Midgard, your entire race declared war. Not on Midgard or these mortals, but on me! Midgard is under my protection, and I will defend it until my dying breath. And yours."

The wind carried his words to the far corners of the city so that every alien invader heard and knew just whose wrath they were feeling.

For those one the ground, it was too late to do anything in retaliation. Thor saw that they were sufficiently wet from the downpour and chose that moment to end their lives.

He raised Mjolnir toward the heavens. Lightning jumped from the black storm clouds and danced the hammer, illuminating the runes etched into the sides. "WRETCHED CURS! FEEL MY WRATH!"

A massive lightning bolt, easily the size of a freight train, arced from his hammer and slammed into the ground. A blinding flash of white light illuminated the night sky for hundreds of miles. The thunder that followed was more like a sonic boom; it shattered every piece of glass for dozens of miles and rendered everyone but Thor that was within that same radius almost completely deaf.

As impressive as that was, it wasn't his main intention. When the lightning bolt struck the ground, it broke off into hundreds of smaller – but nearly as potent – lightning bolts. Like heat seeking missiles, they curved and bent around buildings, over cars and under bridges to find their marks. Each one struck a Kree, flash-frying him or her and reducing them to an ashen corpse instantly. Because they had been caught up in the downpour, they could offer no resistance.

Thirty minutes. For thirty minutes, the denizens of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil experienced terror they hadn't experienced since Ultron. They had enjoyed peace for a year, then, in a matter of days, it was snatched away from them. Humanity never ceased to amaze him. Its capacity for love and compassion was unparalleled in all the nine realms. On the other hand, its capacity for hatred and warfare was comparable with even the most savage of war-mongering races in the universe.

It was Thor duty to protect these mortals from anything that threatened their safety. More often than not, that threat was they themselves. Murder, theft, terrorism, rape, abuse – such savagery committed against their own kind. It made him glad, in a twist manner, that they were being attacked by an outside threat.

The ground forces had all been killed, and the ships had been dispatched. There was but only one more obstacle to overcome before the threat to Brazil was quashed.

The Kree battleship was impressive both in size and weaponry. It was easy to see why any human military would have been overwhelmed by just one of them. But, not Thor. His power far exceeded anything the Kree had at their disposal.

His power was great. He was the Mighty Thor, second only to Odin himself in all of Asgard. The Kree stood no chance against him. They lost before he arrived. Truly, they lost the moment the desire to invade Midgard manifested in their hearts.

With one fluid motion, he swung his hammer upward and fired off a swirling white beam. The beam was thin, but transpierced the hull of the battleship easily. Several more followed it, each one finding the same success.

"Regret the day you stepped foot on Midgard!" One final wave of energy crashed against the ship like a massive wave against a boat. It ate through the hull like acid through a weak metal, leaving nothing but the foundation where it struck.

With the level of damage it suffered, it could no longer sustain flight. It sunk like a stone in the water. The only thing keeping it from crashing into the city and causing even more damage was Thor himself. His great strength kept it airborne long enough for him to carry it away from the city and to the nearest body of water, where he gently placed it on the ground.

"'Tis done," he spoke into his comm. "The city of Rio is no longer in danger from the—" He was cut off by a lone spacecraft catching his peripheral vision. _Still more to test me?!_

Lightning flashed in the distance, a grim herald to the burgeoning wrath simmering just below Thor's surface. "Who would dare?! Come out and face me, coward!"

The spacecraft landed innocuously a few yards away from him. Moments later, the lone occupant floated out of the hatch at the top. "I mean you no harm, Asgardian."

"Mahr-Vehl?" At seeing the familiar Kree, the lightning calmed somewhat. "What are you doing here?"

The Kree pluskommander floated toward him and landed next to him. His posture was slightly slumped and his face weary. Perhaps he had been constantly traveling the last year, in search of the Diviners. He hadn't heard anything about them since, but he could only assume that he found and destroyed them all. "I had come to warn you of Ronan's arrival, but I see that I am too late."

He nodded grimly. "That is putting it lightly."

"Indeed."

"However, as my mortal friends say, better late than never. You can still aid us in defeating—"

"I cannot," he replied quickly to quash any hope Thor had been gaining. "I cannot betray my own people. Just as you cannot betray yours, if the situation ever arose."

He was correct about that. "I see. I cannot ask you to even consider such, then. But, there must be something you can do help us. Divine a weakness in Ronan that you know of; some kind of psychological or emotional edge that we can gain to overcome his physical superiority."

"There is none, I am afraid. There is a reason that _he_ is the Supreme Accuser and not anyone else."

He was afraid he would say that.

"I can, however, tell you where he is." When beckoned to continue, he did so. "There is a very large collection of inhumans in the eastern half of this planet, hidden in a mountain range. That is where Ronan is headed."

Thor frowned. Inhumans that had already been turned prior to his arrival? "How many are present?"

"Hundreds. If you still wish to save these people, it is in your best interest to get there before he does."

He nodded and floated into the air. "I will do so. I already know that I cannot defeat the Accuser on my own, but mayhap I can delay him until the others arrive." That was his hope, at any rate. "My thanks to you, Mahr-Vehl, and fair thee well."

"Fair well, Thor. And the good luck to you." Before Thor could get too far away, he called after him. "Do you know where Carol is now?"

"I do not, I am afraid. The invasion spans across the globe, so she could be anywhere."

He sighed, slightly disappointed. "I see. Thank you, and good luck."

Thor watched him return to his ship before continuing his flight to the Avengers Mansion. It was his hope that Jocasta could find the mountain range that Mahr-Vehl spoke of, and quickly. Time was of the essence and lives were at stake.


	27. An Uneasy Alliance

_**A/N:**_ _Hope you guys had a happy and safe Fourth of July yesterday!_

* * *

 _ **An Uneasy Alliance**_

 **Berlin, Germany – 1:17 AM EST**

Steve and his team were transported to Berlin. Much like in other invasion sites, when they arrived, the Kree were already well into their assault. Steve wasted no time in assessing the situation and dividing the team accordingly. He, Beast and Kitty had no choice but to tackle the ground forces on their own. Rogue, being the only flyer in the group, had to handle dozens of ships. Not on her own, though, as Clint stood atop a building to snipe ships out of the air with his explosive arrows.

It was much like the Battle of Manhattan for Steve and Clint. Their tactics were much the same, as were the results. In many ways, it was going even better than back then. Back then, the Avengers were used to working alone or in a partnership, not a team. Rogue, Kitty, and Beast were. They followed Steve's orders, using their mutant abilities to exploit whatever advantage they could find over the invaders.

Kitty in particular was holding her own better than the others. With her phasing ability, the Kree couldn't touch her. And by simply walking through them, she caused them extreme amounts of pain; to the point that they passed out from the pain. That and her naturally calming personality made her the perfect one to cajole the newly hatched inhumans into going with them.

Rogue and Clint were making short work of the Kree ships. With her super-strength, Rogue tore through them like tissue paper. Steve had to stop himself from thinking that she stole that strength from Carol every time he saw her fly by overhead, whooping like an excitable girl at a county fair.

 _This isn't the time or the place,_ he chided himself. But he would bring it to her attention later on, once all of this was over.

He would never forget how his heart ripped in half when he saw Carol comatose in a hospital bed. He never left her side. He couldn't. That, of course, led her parents to question whether they were a couple, like Tony said they were.

He didn't know how to answer that.

When Carol awoke days later, the overwhelming feelings of relief and happiness were fleeting. She couldn't remember who he was, or anyone. She looked at him as though he were a complete stranger, and even demanded to know why he was holding her hand.

Even though Carol had her memories and powers back, she wasn't the same. Whenever they reminisced about the past, she always reacted like a person reading a history book. It was like she was on the outside looking into her own memories. It was heartbreaking to know that she likely would never completely feel every emotion associated with what she remembered. Although, she felt anger pretty easily. And disgust. And resentment. All the negative emotions that he would very much rather she be unable to feel.

 _I'll never forgive you for what you did to her._

Steve allowed himself a moment to relieve his anger by caving a Kree's skull in with his shield. The mission was the only thing that mattered. There were lives in danger and an invasion that needed to be stopped. There was no time for him to be getting caught up in his own anger.

"How's it looking up there, Clint?" he asked.

"Better than thirty minutes ago," he answered. "Southern Belle really packs a wallop."

"Yeah, I bet she does."

 _=Captain, I think I have just about all the inhumans rounded up,=_ Kitty reported.

"What's their morale?"

 _=They're scared, but amicable. Heading your way now.=_

"Roger that. Be careful."

In the last thirty minutes, they had made a lot of headway. The Kree numbers had thinned noticeably, and were steadily dwindling by the minute. It was the advantage of having experience working as a team. They were all already used to having one or several people backing them up. There was no need to feel that they had to do everything by themselves.

All they had to do was do as he told them and they would get out of there fine.

Rogue was making quick work of the ships above them. Those on the ground noticed that easily enough. The Kree noticed it, also. And they weren't as happy about it as the heroes were. As such, they sent in reinforcements.

Three pods were ejected from the warship hovering far above them.

"What are those, bombs?!" Steve, Beast and Kitty all dove for cover.

They weren't bombs.

The pods slammed into the ground, and cracked open. Out of the pods rose three large purple robots, each one thirty feet tall.

Immediately, the mutants thought they were sentinels. Steve felt a cold dread ripple through his chest as he though the same.

They were all wrong.

The three robots weren't sentinels, but Kree sentries. They were designed originally to watch over Kree military bases and supply depots across the Empire. However, Ronan knew that the human heroes would put up a valiant fight, so he brought a few with him as extra reinforcements.

Immediately, one of the sentries fired a blast at the building Clint was perched on. The first three floors exploded, sending him falling to the street, eighty feet below.

"Clint!"

Just before he splattered against the pavement, Rogue swooped in and grabbed him. "Gotcha, suge!"

"Thanks for the save, dixie."

"Anything for a cutie. Even if ya are a Yank." She touched down near where Steve, Hank and Kitty were standing. "These folks got sentinels, too!'

"It would appear to be so, Rogue. I can only hope they are as easily destroyed."

"Only one way to find out." She took off like a heat-seeking missile, nimbly weaving around blasts coming from all three sentries. Fist drawn back, she landed a full-strength punch right in the middle on one's chest.

Rogue was strong enough to shred a sentinel with a punch of that level. The sentry barely budged.

"What the hell?" she managed before she was blasted through a building and into the street below. At the end of the ten-foot-long trench she carved out, Rogue rose to her feet. Her brown leather jacket was almost completely shredded, but she herself was none the worse for wear. "This ain't good."

She was the group's only heavy hitter. If she couldn't make a dent in one of the sentries with her strongest hit, the others were going to be hard pressed to, either. Clint had plenty of trick arrows, but he wasn't sure if they would do the trick.

"Only one way to find out," he muttered while nocking an explosive arrow and shooting it at one of the sentries. It struck true on its leg and detonated, filling the mid-morning German sky with the distinct smell of incendiary powder.

It did little more than singe its armor.

"Well."

"Captain, I would suggest a hasty retreat," Beast suggested. "The Kree are after the inhumans, thus us departing would draw them away from the city and would prevent any further damage."

Steve didn't need much time to think it over. "Let's fall back until we can call for reinforcements. Clint, give us some cover."

Clint nodded and quickly shot a pair of smokescreen arrow. Two blocks were obscured from view, giving them a chance to retreat. "Cap, SHIELD is on the way. Two minutes out."

That was good news. "Great. Lassen sie uns die menschen bewegen. Auf dem doppelten." ( _ **Translation**_ _: Let's move people. On the double._ )

There were fifteen inhumans, panicked and desperate for safety, following after the heroes through the streets of downtown Berlin. It was cloudy – both naturally and due to the smoke from multiple explosions being detonated during the attack, so that gave them some cover, as it wasn't as bright as it would have normally been. However, there weren't many places they could hide with the massive battleship stalking them overhead.

"Two blocks up ahead, Cap," Clint said. He shot another smokescreen arrow to cover their tracks, but it didn't seem to have any effect. If anything, it was as though he hadn't even shot one. The sentries and the remaining Kree soldiers were still hot on their trail, as was the warship.

Purple beams zipped past them from above, but thankfully missed all in the group, and instead destroyed the buildings around them. Chunks of buildings, some ten feet in diameter, were missing, as though carved out with a knife.

"Right here." Clint stopped at the entrance of an unassuming looking brown building. There were no markings or signs to identify it with. "Hier drin. Eile!" ( _In here. Hurry!)_

As the inhumans hastily made their way inside, the warship and the sentries unleashed their full power. Everyone but Clint cowered for cover. That was because he knew that the building wasn't a building, but a cleverly camouflaged shield. The unrelenting torrential downpour of laser beams were all reflected back at their shooters.

"How did you know?" Kitty asked him once they were all inside.

"Know what?" He smirked at her astonished expression, then looked for the agent in charge of the hidden base.

Which was none other, "Sharon?!"

Sharon Carter, aka Agent 13. She was about to speak when Steve captured her in a bear hug.

He let her down before he could break something. "How? I—I thought you were killed."

"LMD," she answered simply.

Life model decoys – created by one Tony Stark. They were the unpowered superspy equivalent of Doombots. It was rumored that Nick Fury had hundreds of them stashed away somewhere. "But, how did you even know you'd need one."

"I can answer that." Fury walked over to them, flanked by Spider-Woman and Bucky. "Strucker emailed Trent a list of the double agents Hydra had within SHIELD three years ago. Ward's name was on that list. Once I found out Ward was there during your attack of Strucker's castle, I knew that she wasn't going to go to the Raft. I didn't want to risk Carter's life in case I was wrong, so I sent an LMD in her place. Turns out, I was right on."

That made sense. "I'm just glad you're okay."

Sharon smiled happily. "Thanks. I'm just sorry I couldn't go to that party with you, Steve."

"It's fine, Carter. It was for the best, anyway," Clint responded before Steve could get a word out. "What?"

Steve glared at him before returning his attention to Sharon. "Never mind him. I'm sorry about that, too."

She seemed to sense that he wasn't telling her something. "Well, I'd better get these guys out of here. That shield won't hold up too much longer."

He nodded and watched her walk toward the inhumans. What could have been, had Tony and Clint not interfered the first time he showed interest in her? He couldn't help but wonder, even if it wouldn't have done him any good. He was with Carol now, even though they were taking things at a snail's pace.

Bucky's metal hand clapped him on the shoulder. "You still fuckin' that thick dame, Steve?"

He sighed and flashed a weary smile. "If by 'thick dame', you mean Carol, then… yes, we're together now." Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Rogue shifted nervously. _Good._

"You two aren't shagging?" Jessica asked.

"No. We haven't even kissed yet."

She looked both dumbfounded and disappointed. "Steve! It's been a bloody year."

"Is this really the time to be having this conversation?" After allowing himself to slip, he reentered Leader of the Avengers mode. "I assume that since you three are here, Fury has something to combat the Kree."

"You assume right, Rogers." Fury walked up to them, rolling a cart full of what looked like energy rifles behind him. "Doomtech we confiscated from Hydra when they folded. Not much, but it's more than we'd have otherwise. Plus, I got Hill digging those old Apprehension Division drones out of storage. We're going to need every edge we can get."

Six of those Latverian rifles combined were strong enough to take out the Abomination. Steve could only hope that the Kree weren't stronger than he was. He picked one up and looked it over. "Doom knew what he was doing. That's for sure."

"Greatest mind for technology, outside of Richards and Stark. You take care of the Kree on the ground. We got something for that big ship in the sky."

He raised an eyebrow. "Unless it's a nuke—" He cut himself off when the memory of the Phase Two weaponry he found so many years ago hit him. "It's a nuke, isn't it?"

Fury didn't answer. Which meant that it was. "We'll be in touch. Take Barnes and Drew with you. You need them more than I do."

He nodded. "Buck, Jess, welcome back."

"As much as I've enjoyed our little tour of Eastern Europe, it's nice to finally see some familiar and friendly faces," Jessica said with a growing smile.

"Are we unfamiliar or unfriendly to you, my dear?"

Steve's blood ran hot. "Viper! Strucker! Wha—"

Jessica raised a calming hand to diffuse the situation before it got a chance to escalate. Just in time, as Clint had already nocked a pair of arrows and was taking aim. "Relax, luvs. They're… they're with us."

"With us?! Fury, have you lost your damn mind?!"

Kitty looked hopelessly lost, while Hank seemed passive about the entire exchange. "Wait, who are these guys?" she asked.

"They're fucking Nazis!" Clint seethed.

Her eyes widened, then narrowed. "Nazis?"

Viper's eyes narrowed. "We are _not_ Nazis."

"Actually, I _am_ a Nazi."

"You're not helping, Strucker." She turned from Strucker to Steve, who looked like he was just waiting for an excuse to deck her. "As for you, Rogers, I don't want to hear you complaining. We don't like this arrangement any more than you. But, as Fury just told you, you need every edge you can get."

He hated, absolutely _hated_ , that she was right. But, she was. He growled to himself, but deflated. "Fine. But, if either of you, or anyone else you have with you, step out of line just once, I—"

She waved him off dismissively. "Will not hesitate to kill me with your bare hands. Blah, blah. I've heard all this before." She pulled a pair of rifles from the cart. Strapping one to her back, she cocked the other. "Now, I believe we have some aliens to kill."

"I'm Jewish," Kitty declared, a boiling hot glare directed at the two Hydra leaders. "I refuse to work with either of you."

Strucker tsked sadly. "Jewish _and_ a mutant. Such a dreadful shame to have such bad luck, Freulein."

"Fuck you! And you can both go to hell!" Kitty was livid. Her fists were balled so tightly that her knuckles were bone white. "And you," she said to Jessica. "You call yourself a hero. What kind of hero would willingly work with these monsters?! 'They're with us' you say. They may be with you, but they aren't with me. Even if I have to fight those things out there by myself, then so be it!"

She spare Steve a single disappointed glance before storming off.

Shame overtook him. He hated Hydra as much as Jessica and Bucky; yet, he gave up his conviction for a desperate attempt to gain as many able allies as possible. Kitty didn't. He wished he had been that strong. But, in many ways, he couldn't afford to be.

Desperate times called for desperate measures. It was an adage as old as time itself. Yet, it never seemed to ring as truly as it did at that very moment. The Avengers and the X-Men found themselves working together mere hours after being on opposite ends of a bitter race war. An invasion thrust them together, along with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. On top of that, they were now working alongside Hydra.

Steve didn't dare dream of what was next.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Wow, The Brotherhood and Hydra working with the good guys. Who's next, dare I ask?_


	28. An Impossible Alliance

_**An Impossible Alliance**_

 **London, England – 1:20 AM EST**

Peter didn't want to jinx it, but this may have been the easiest battle he had ever been a part of. As soon as they were teleported to the invasion site, every Kree that was attacking on the ground was unconscious. Having Quicksilver on their side almost wasn't fair. Almost, since the Kree had Ronan and his power gem.

The bulk of the Kree's invasion force had been taken down in seconds, which threw them for a serious loop. There wasn't anything else for either him or Cyclops to do besides find and gather up the inhumans and keep them from getting sniped by one of the ships.

The ships that were still in the air after Storm unleashed her fury.

"Winds! Rain! Lightning! Herald my rage, and wipe these invaders from my sight!" In a matter of seconds, a category five hurricane was ravaging the invading alien ships overhead. Storm wasn't as powerful as Thor. He was a god and she – although she was worshipped as a goddess – wasn't. But, what she lacked in power, she more than made up for in control.

Without the aid of a magical hammer, her hurricane devastated the Kree and only the Kree.

"Wow, she's actually kind of scary," Peter remarked. He and the others had to head for cover to avoid getting washed out in the downpour.

"You have no idea," Pietro responded, deadpan.

 _Well, I guess he would know._

Cyclops didn't respond, but instead assessed the situation from under the bridge they were standing.

Storm was more than capable to destroying the ships by herself. Which left only the warship as their biggest obstacle. He wasn't sure if Storm alone was enough. It was widely known that Cyclops could punch a hole clean through the base of a mountain if he went full tilt with his optic blast. That should have been more than enough, assuming they didn't have any shielding.

After Magneto's display against the first warship earlier, there weren't any guarantees.

"Spider-Man, you, Valkyrie and Quicksilver find and gather up the inhumans for transport. I'm going to try and put a dent in that warship."

"Well, good luck with that," Pietro said before vanishing.

"Yeah. I'd better go find him before he finds a little old lady to scowl at."

Peter didn't feel comfortable working with the X-Men. He was one of the ones who faced the advanced sentinels last year. Ultimately, he was one of the ones responsible for the death of six X-Men. One of which was, apparently, Mystique's son.

He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was very glad to not be on her team.

He didn't know what happened. There was more than enough time after Ultron's defeat to inform them of the new sentinels, but it never happened. Peter himself was busy with his courses at Empire State, but that was hardly an excuse. All it would have taken was a phone call, or email, or telepathic message. Something was better than what they gave them, which was nothing.

Who knew; maybe nothing would have changed. Maybe those six X-Men would have still been killed. Or maybe, they would all still be alive.

It was the maybe that was killing him. What could have happened if they had picked up the phone was going to eat away at him for the rest of his life.

' _With great power must always come great responsibility.'_ It was their responsibility to look out for their fellow heroes, and they failed. Six lives were taken because of their inaction. In many ways, it was worse than if they had killed them themselves.

"Do you think they'll ever forgive us?" he asked Pietro and Brunnhilda when he caught up to them.

"Aye, in time. The loss of a shield brother is among the worst pains a warrior can feel. I have seen entire armies felled due to the loss of a hero's close friend. These warriors have lost six." She looked skyward toward Storm. The woman's fury was tangible, and not just because of the storm. "I know their pain. I have lost too many friends to remember."

He knew what she meant. Even though he was moving on, Gwen's death still hit him hard on some days. Then, there was Uncle Ben. "Yeah."

"There's no point in being sad for them," Pietro stated coldly. "They die and resurrect more often than you change shirts in a day. Those that died will be back before the year is out."

"Are you sure?"

He glanced at him briefly before nodding. "Positive. Death is a vacation to the X-Men. The only thing that occurs more often than someone dying is meeting one of Summers' relatives from another dimension or timeline or whatever."

"Huh." He didn't feel any better, but that was certainly interesting to know.

"Yeah."

With that somewhat out of the way, they could concentrate on their assignment. The inhumans were scattered throughout the city, but having Quicksilver and no Kree to harass them made the search go very quickly.

"So, these are the ones the Madame was so adamant about finding."

The voice sent chills up Peter's spine. "It can't be."

Baron Helmut Zemo turned quickly, sword drawn in the blink of an eye. "You!" He was with his old running mates, Mandarin and Moonstone. Belova was nowhere to be found, Abomination was dead by all accounts and the Enchantress was still in Asgardian prison. Madame Hydra was somewhere in Eastern Europe, the last Peter heard. At least there was a very small chance of a Masters of Evil reunion.

"Son of a bitch." In an instant, the three Masters were on the ground, Zemo's own sword pressed against his throat. "What the hell are you three doing here?"

"Is it not obvious?" Brunnhilda answered him. "These cowards seek to find gain in this madness."

"As fun as that sounds," Gene countered, "not quite. It turns out that these aliens want to kill _us_ also."

"And obviously," Karla continued, "we very much don't want that to happen."

"That makes three of you," Pietro said icily.

"Hm. Perhaps the goddess' former slave holds a touch of resentment."

"You know, sock-head, most people would hold the snark when a sword is being held to their throat."

"Not I, arachnid."

"And why is that? You aren't particularly funny, like me."

"'Funny' is a bit of a strong word, bug," Karla muttered. Her mouth was webbed up in response.

"Because," Zemo stated, "you need our help. We have caught wind of the power the Kree possess when the mutant island was destroyed. I would reckon that is beyond your ability to cope with."

"But, you can help. Right."

"Thor is back on Earth. If you could handle the Kree as well as you insinuate you could, the invasion would be over by now," Gene charged.

They knew that the heroes couldn't beat Ronan; though, it also seemed that they didn't know that only Ronan possessed the kind of power they heard about. In the end, that didn't matter. They were going to need all the help they could get.

Peter glanced toward Pietro and Brunnhilda, only to find them staring intently at him. "What?"

"You're considering it," he replied dryly.

"I—" He was cut off by his Spider Sense going off. "Look out!" He ducked down, barely missing the blast that had been coming in from behind him. The building beside them exploded, throwing all six of them back and showering them in dust and debris.

Three Kree sentries moved in on them, cannons poised to fire as soon as one of them moved.

Pietro moved first, firing off hundreds of blows before anyone could even think of getting to their feet. The only result was his hands shattering like they had been pinned under a jackhammer.

Peter and Brunnhilda moved in after him. The former nimbly dodged their blasts and webbed their cannons up, so the latter could try to cut into them with her sword. The cuts she made before being blasted away were deep, but otherwise inconsequential.

"Those things are tough." Peter kept dodging the blasts from two sentries, but didn't notice the third coming up from behind him until his Sense went off. By the time it did, he was mid-dodge, and couldn't adjust in time before being smacked through a building.

"Well, looks like you have this well in hand. We'll be on our way."

Peter rose to his feet, a little groggy from the hard smack, but otherwise uninjured. He couldn't believe that he was about to agree to work with these murderers. Desperate times called for desperate measures. _Damn it!_ "Wait!"

Zemo chuckled to himself. "Thought so." He nodded to Gene and Karla.

Moonstone rocketed forward, and landed a solid punch on one of the sentries. It barely budged, just like with Rogue in Berlin. "Well." She turned intangible just before being blasted, then phased through the sentry's head. That time, it seized up, then fell to its knees. "Ha!"

She did the same to the remaining two. In mere seconds, the sentries were defeated. It would have taken the Avengers a substantially longer amount of time. Perhaps a little less if Cyclops and Storm finished up the rest of the invasion.

"Well, that was by far the most difficult thing I've ever had to do."

"Yeah," Peter mumbled morosely.

"Yeah? Didn't your aunt ever teach you how to say 'thank you', Parker?"

Peter felt a cold chill run down his spine. "H-how do you know who I am?!"

Zemo chuckled again. "You seem to have forgotten that Hydra and SHIELD were one in the same once upon a time. And we had a very close partnership with them. Think back; I believe you'll recall."

He knew SHIELD knew his secret, but he trusted Fury – against his better judgment, at the time – so he never bothered to worry about his identity being leaked to the public or the wrong person finding out. "Please. Just don't hurt my aunt. She's the only family I have left."

"There is no sound quite as satisfying as a hero begging. As you wish, junger mann."

"I'm waiting," Karla said impatiently.

He sighed heavily. "Thank you."

"For?"

"Seriously?" The words burned his mouth like hot coal. "Thanks for the help."

"And for doing what you were incapable of doing," she added. "You're welcome."

The warship was still in the air, which meant that Cyclops couldn't pack enough of a punch. The hurricane had lessened to a lightning storm, which meant that Storm was giving him a much needed hand.

Those on the ground could have let them handle it and continued their search for the inhumans. Karla had other ideas. "Hmph. Looks like I have to do everything around here." She turned intangible again and rocketed toward the warship.

There was no doubt that she was going to be able to destroy it by just phasing through it. As irritating as it was knowing that she did in seconds what they couldn't do in ten minutes, seeing how easily she defeated the sentries opened up another avenue for them. They had two other phasers on their team, Vision and Shadowcat.

He wouldn't admit it out loud, but Moonstone showing up when she did gave them another advantage in their fight against the Kree. How that would translate in the eventual fight with Ronan remained to be seen, but at least the invasion would be easier to contain.

But, in finding that advantage, he had to sign a deal with the devils themselves. The very ones who murdered the Avengers on live television years ago and very nearly conquered the world were going to be helping them save it. And there was little doubt that they were going to try their damnedest to maneuver themselves into a favorable light by the end of it.

"Man, Cap's gonna flip his lid," he groaned.


	29. Respect and Admiration

_**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews, guys. Keep 'em coming!_

* * *

 _ **Respect and Admiration**_

 **Jersey City, New Jersey – 1:25 AM EST**

It was bad enough that there was an alien invasion by a race that Carol felt somewhat connected to. In the year since she found out that she was a Kree-human hybrid, she had been searching for anything and everything she could on the Kree race. That meant working closely with Director Coulson and SHIELD, as he was doing the same. As it turned out, he had quite a bit of information on them. None of which he could understand; but she could.

They were the Great Britain of outer space. They went to different planets and star systems, and assimilated them into their vast empire. Any planet not deemed worthy by Ronan or another accuser of assimilation was wiped out quickly.

They were bullies, plain and simple. They forced people to join their empire; and if those people refused and fought for their freedom, they were eliminated.

This was the race that Carol was halfway a part of. This was half of her family legacy; one of violence and conquest. It wasn't enough that she was part alien. She had grown up her entire life knowing that she was a human. That wasn't something that a person question, unless they weren't all there mentally. People just knew that they were human, and thus didn't give it any thought. For the previous 26 years of her life, she was one of those people; until one day, she wasn't.

It was a tired adage that had lost its meaning through misuse and overuse, but it was true in this case: that moment changed her life forever. And not just in the obvious way, either. She changed psychologically. How was she supposed to react to something like finding out she was part of an extraterrestrial race? She herself buried herself in the Avengers. She became the best hero she could, swearing to use these unwanted but not unappreciated gifts as responsibly as she could.

And she did. Ms. Marvel had become one of the most popular heroes in the country, quickly becoming an idol for girls and women, young and old, hero and civilian. It was surreal in a lot of ways. She went from being an anonymous pilot to an icon in the better part of three years. Half of which she was dead for – she still hadn't quite come to grips with that little thing.

Her very first day on the job, she helped save the world from Ultron. Everything was going great, until she ran into Rogue and Mystique.

If she was being extremely honest, it really wasn't Rogue's fault. She considered Mystique to be her mother, and who wouldn't want to do what they could to help their mother? Even one as evil and sociopathic as Mystique.

She was just following her mother's orders. Then again, some of the evilest acts in human history were committed because those that committed them were just following orders. Not to say that stealing her powers and putting her in a week long coma compared to some of the most heinous acts in human history.

Then, she learned that Rogue left the Brotherhood – great – and joined the X-Men – not great. She didn't want to claim that they had some obligation to make Rogue's life harder than they probably did just for her, but letting her join just like that wasn't enough for her. Even if they did make her go through a hard time, it wasn't enough. She needed to suffer. She needed to be punished for what she did to her. She just couldn't put a hero in a coma, then join a hero team a few months later and suddenly everything was right as rain. The world didn't work that way, mutant or not.

That was why she was gritting her teeth at having to work with those people. If it were up to her, this would purely be an Avengers mission. Working with the X-Men only made her blood boil, because they were automatically going to be on Rogue's side of the issue.

And she was certain they knew. She could tell just from the way Jubilee did all she could to avoid making eye contact with her. It made her sick.

Not only that, but they were angry with them about withholding information from them that could have possibly saved their friends. While they had a legitimate gripe with them, it was hypocritical. They, that being the X-Men, didn't lift a finger to help them with the Masters of Evil, at all. Not during the Battle of Berlin, or when they were about to be executed in the middle of Times Square. Nor did they help the New Avengers when they eventually defeated them in Mexico.

They weren't the only ones who suffered because of someone else's negligence and apathy. She couldn't wait until someone tried to guilt her into feeling terrible so she could drop that on them to shut them up.

"There are more at the Waterfront!" T'Challa yelled over the commotion. Screaming civilians and yelling Kree almost overtook the heroes as they fought to regain order. Most of the ships had been destroyed between Janet and Carol. Wanda and T'Challa were more than capable of handling the foot soldiers on their own. Jubilee, with her useless fireworks, only served as a distraction and the one looking for the inhumans.

Not entirely fair; she did take down her fair share of Kree.

Carol bulldozed through a group of Kree, knocking them down for T'Challa to plant knives in their skulls. She and Wanda combined to forcibly carve a path to an inhuman that was just about to hatch near the Jersey Waterfront.

Unfortunately, there was also a contingent of Kree on their way to kill the inhuman also. Obviously, Carol couldn't let that happen.

"There it is!" Jubilee shouted, pointing to the lone cocoon several yards away.

Carol dashed ahead and landed in between the cocoon and the seven Kree closing in on it. "End of the line, boys. You want that inhuman, you're going to have to go through me!"

She engaged them alone, briefly, while the others quickly caught up to her. Photon blasts kept her flanks clear, while old-fashioned fists and boots kept the ones in front of her at bay.

The cocoon behind her started to crumble apart. She could hear a muffled, but terrified scream coming from inside. _Aw, crap._

"Watch your nine, Ms. Marvel," Wanda warned. She fired a hex bolt to disable the Kree trying to sneak up on her while she was distracted.

"The abomination is hatching!" This soldier unbuckled a grenade and detonated it. He and his comrades ducked down, while the concussive force of the grenade knocked the heroes away.

The cocoon crumbled apart, and a young girl stumbled out and fell to the ground. She couldn't have been any more that fifteen or sixteen.

A Kree raised his sword to hack her to pieces.

"Noooo!" Carol exploded forward and slammed into him from behind. T'Challa jumped in after her and sliced his breathing apparatus apart. He nimbly did the same for the following three that tried to jump on him from behind.

Wanda followed him with a pair of incendiary hex bolts that lit three more on fire.

Janet finished the last one off by blasting him into submission. "And that's that. We need to figure out how to destroy that ship up there."

She was right. After the last foot soldier fell, the very last thing they had to take care of was the warship.

But first, Carol kneeled down beside the teenaged girl. "Hey, you alright, sweetheart?"

The girl just stared at her, her big brown eyes wide with shock.

"It's okay, you're safe now. We're going to get you somewhere safe, okay?" She smiled and held her hand out to help the girl up.

It was a moment – occupied by more intense, borderline awkward staring – but the girl took Carol's hand and stood up. "Guh. Y—you… y—you're Ms. Marvel!"

She couldn't help but smile. It didn't take much to drag someone this young out of terror's grasp. "Yeah, I am. What's your name?"

"Kamala. Kamala Khan."

"Well, Kamala, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ms. Marvel, SHIELD is on its way. It should be here within ten minutes," T'Challa reported. "They have sent me the rendezvous coordinates."

"I can handle the warship," Janet said with a strange confidence, considering what she had just said. "You guys get the inhumans to the extraction point."

The other heroes looked at her strangely.

"What?"

" _You're_ going to take the warship down?" Wanda enunciated carefully, as though trying to understand it. "How exactly?"

Janet rolled her eyes and shifted into a defiant posture. "My wasp's stings grow more powerful the larger I am." The confused/skeptical looks persisted. "Just watch. And try not to hurt yourselves during your standing ovation." With that, she shrunk down and flew away toward the ship.

"I'd better go with her, in case she just overestimated herself," Wanda said. She sprinted after her.

When Janet noticed she was being followed, her eyes narrowed. "You seriously don't trust me?"

"It's not that," Wanda said calmly. "I'm just here just in case."

"In case I blow it, you mean."

"No, I—"

"Just wait and see." She breathed in deeply and closed her eyes. Then, she grew to normal size. And then, she kept growing. For the first time ever, Janet was growing into a giant. Her helmet retracted, as the oxygen supply was no longer necessary. She grew to over eighty feet in height.

The diminutive woman towered over everything.

Wanda stood beside her foot, absolutely gobsmacked.

It amazed her that she hadn't ever grown before. Scott, Rita, and Bill – the other three recipients of Pym Particles – had done it all the time; especially the latter two. But, never Janet. Shrinking was her thing. It was her trademark, her calling card. Between her and Ant-Man, she shrunk and he grew.

And besides, she had never had a reason to grow. It wasn't necessary. Until now. Carol could have handle the ship, she figured. Wanda, too. And there was little doubt that T'Challa had something up his sleeve he could pull out if push came to shove. But, not Janet. Not little, flighty Janet.

Their reactions when she volunteered proved it. They didn't take her seriously. Not as seriously as she should have been. She helped save the world not once, but twice. She was a big-time hero, yet she didn't have as much respect from her own friends as she knew she was owed.

Well, that time was over. She was going to destroy the warship, look fabulous while doing it, and gain the respect she rightfully deserved.

 _Okay, let's do this. I think this will work._

She actually hadn't ever tried this before. She didn't know if her wasp's stings worked at this size. She knew her wings didn't, since they were a set size, but there was no reason why her bioelectricity shouldn't have worked.

She hoped.

There was only one way to find out.

She clasped her hands together and charge as much power as she could. Tense seconds passed as nothing happened. Her heart skipped several beats. _Oh god, please work. Please._ If Wanda had to whip up a spell and turn the ship into a paper swan, Janet was just going to die.

The low hum of her bioelectric energy coming to life and gathered around her hands. "Alright! Eat this, bitches!" She unleashed a massive wave of energy, larger and more potent than anything she had generated before.

When the blast made contact, the warship exploded. The ground shook and was showered with bits of molten metal.

"Holy shit! I did it!" Janet let out a whoop in celebration and jumped up and down, nearly stepping on Wanda in the process. "I did it! I did it! I did—oh shit!" She landed wrong and tumbled to the ground with a massive crash. "Ow."

Meanwhile, "…What kind of conditioner do you use? What kind of leather polish do you use to keep your uniform so shiny? Where did you buy your boots from? Where did you get those gloves? Did you make your sash yourself? Are there pockets in your sash? My friend online thinks that your sash doesn't have pockets, but I think it totally does. Are you really Captain America's girlfriend? Are you and Scarlet Witch girlfriends? Can you beat the Hulk? Are you really from Boston? Do you know any Boston Red Sox players? What does ham taste like? Do you need a sidekick? Can I be your sidekick? Do you…"

"She has not stopped talking in the last ten minutes," T'Challa whispered to Jubilee.

To Carol's credit, she didn't lose her patience. This wasn't the first time she encountered a fangirl; compared to times in the past, Kamala was very low on the annoyance meter.

In the distance, the warship vanished in a massive explosion. The ground trembled briefly, then again repeatedly, then one more time, which almost knocked them off their feet. "The hell is going on?"

"I believe the Wasp proved us wrong."

"Let me guess," Jubilee hummed, "we're not going to hear the end of this for a while."

"You would be correct, if she is anything like Tony Stark, as is propertied."

"Great. Just when I haven't been talked to death enough."


	30. Worthy of Trust

_**Worthy of Trust**_

 **Madripoor – 1:45 AM**

"I absolutely hate my life." Tony and his team had been transported to Madripoor, the country that had, literally, been voted 'Worst Place On Earth' three years in a row.

"I promise that you don't hate your life as much as I do." Mystique was still very much on his team, despite him doing his utmost to will it not so.

Tony was a pragmatic man. He understood that compromises needed to be made for the greater good. He didn't like it, and didn't make those compromises often, but he was willing to make them when they needed to be made. There were, however, certain compromises that shouldn't have been made. Those decisions led to ramifications that no one was ready to deal with.

In short, Tony didn't feel comfortable with his current arrangement. It had nothing to do with how little he trusted Creed and Mystique. Well, not as much as he made it seem earlier. Those two were villains, the worst of the worst. The Brotherhood as a whole was a collection of the most notorious mutants on the planet. They killed innocent people to push their "equality" agenda and wouldn't stop at anything to get what they wanted. That much was evidenced over the last week.

The fact that they were essentially forced to work with them to save the world from the Kree left him incensed. These people were doing this purely out of self-preservation. If their lives weren't just as much at risk as everyone else's, they would be in the wind.

There was chatter between himself and Bobbi just prior to their getting started on whether Hydra and AIM would be pitching in to help. While he didn't doubt that it was in their best interest to stop the Kree, he would absolutely be against them working together with the Avengers and X-Men.

It wasn't natural for heroes and villains to work together. It didn't sit well with him. It made him feel dirty. Not to mention it was a blow to his ego to realize that he needed some murdering, raping sociopath's help to beat the villain of the week because he wasn't good enough to get the job done on his own.

He was a hero. He saved lives. Mystique and Sabretooth were villains. They ended lives. It was a contrast that was too discordant to ignore. And it would rear its ugly head eventually.

Sooner, rather than later.

The battle was progressing well enough. Tony was more than enough to handle the ships on his own. They were clearly built with speed and manufacturability in mind. Their chassis weren't very durable – a single repulsor ray or burst from his laser had them falling to pieces. Cluster missiles were the quickest and most efficient means to take them out.

Speed was the key for Tony. He couldn't afford to be bogged down and distracted by the air assault and leave Bobbi alone with those two psychos. And no, he didn't trust Gambit as far as he could throw him; even though the Cajun was far more trustworthy than the other two. Which said a lot that the most notorious thief in North America was more trustworthy than anyone.

Speaking of, the Cajun was doing a lot better than he would have expected. He was faster and more agile than anyone else on the team, and his exploding poker game packed more of a punch than Tony would have thought. And Bobbi, to his relief, was holding her own well. She had resigned herself to finding and assisting the newly hatched inhumans, but she was still able to take down any Kree that came against her through wit, skill, and gadgets.

Which was great, because Clint literally would have killed him if anything happened to her. If she so much as sprained her ankle, Tony was getting an arrow somewhere where arrows didn't belong.

"How's it coming, Bobbi? How many have you found?"

 _=Five, so far. We're keeping them safe so far, but these Kree guys are coming in from every direction.=_

Good news, at least. It was going to take them a while to find all the inhumans. Even searching for the cocoons or the remains of them wasn't as reliable as they hoped, since the first thing anyone who had hostile aliens chasing after them would do was find a hiding spot. The only other ones hiding out were literally everyone else.

But, he had to leave that to them. He had other concerns to that begged his attention; namely the dozens of ships all trying to shoot him out of the sky.

* * *

Meanwhile, down on the streets below, Bobbi was fighting a two-front battle. One side was the Kree, who were trying to kill her and the inhumans. The other side was Mystique and Sabretooth, who were both giving off serious vibes that they wanted to kill her and probably the inhumans, too. If it hadn't been for the fact that the latter had tried to kill her just a few weeks ago, she would have chalked it up to adrenaline mixed with paranoia.

The whole set up had her feeling agitated. Tony was the only one she trusted, and he was too busy not getting shot out of the sky to watch her back.

And she was going to need someone to watch her back. She was reasonably certain that she could take Mystique, provided it was purely a gunfight and she didn't utilize her mutant power. Sabretooth, on the other hand… it took one slash to the chest to almost rip Sam in half just a few weeks ago. Bobbi was certain that she wasn't going to fair much better.

She could only hope that fighting for their survival tempered their desire to tear her, a human, limb from limb. She was as sure as could be that they didn't care a whit about the inhumans. A shame, that; there was, in her mind, very little difference between mutants and inhumans.

And then there was Gambit. There wasn't much to say; she didn't trust him. He had this shifty, shady look about him; as though he was constantly planning on stealing something that was within reach. Every time he darted off, she was worried he was going to return with a burlap sack full of someone else's possessions.

"Do you two plan on helping me fine these guys?" she asked the two Brotherhood members.

Creed, who was covered with blue blood and purple gore, sneered. She shuddered when she saw that even his teeth were covered in gore. "They ain't mutants, so I don't give a shit what happens to 'em."

'Thanks for being so honest," she said drolly.

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, blondie," Raven said dangerously. "It'd be a shame if you were _accidently_ gunned down."

She sighed heavily and backed away. A hand touched one of her battle staves. "Look guys, I know you don't care about me and my wellbeing, but we're in this together. Just stomach my—"

"Got that wrong, Barbie. We," he gestured to himself and Mystique, "are in this together. Stay out of our way and you won't get hurt. Much." With that, they stalked off to kill more Kree.

Bobbi sighed. As good as it would have been to have someone to watch her back, she would rather go it alone that risk being stabbed, shot or clawed in the back. She sighed again and headed back in.

She had found five inhumans and handed them over to SHIELD agents that had been sent to help out. It wasn't hard to find them; all she had to do was look for a large grouping of Kree and there was usually an inhuman or two somewhere nearby. As someone who had historically bad luck when it came to gifted threats, she really wished she could avoid fighting multiple aliens at the same time. There was only so much ingenuity and her shock batons could cover for.

A scream rang from a nearby alley.

"Great." She sprinted in that direction. Staves out, she dove behind cover to assess the situation. Three Kree, two inhumans. The latter two couldn't have been older than fourteen. Not that the Kree cared. They were cornered in a large opening. There was plenty of room for her to operate. Unfortunately, there was plenty of room for the Kree to operate, also.

 _Okay. I can do this._ She reached into a pouch on her belt and produced a pair of flashbangs. Lobbing them over her shoulder and into the Kree's general area, she leaped out and charged toward them a second after they detonated.

Tony upgraded her battle staves just before he left the Avengers for good. Among the upgrades was a dial that controlled how many volts they outputted. The highest setting was more than enough to take down a super-soldier for a few hours.

With that in mind, she jabbed and tased two of the Kree quickly before the effects of the flashbangs wore off – which was much more quickly than she hoped it would be. They fell to the ground, unmoving. The third Kree snarled and swung his energy sword for her head.

She nimbly ducked out of the way and scurried to safety.

"You will not be allowed to interfere any longer, terran scum," the Kree spat bitterly.

"Hate to disappoint you, sport, but this is _my_ planet and you aren't welcome here."

"Yours, hm? We shall see."

The two circled around each other. The Kree soldier stood at seven feet, at minimum. He was taller than Bobbi and more muscular. She was willing to bet he was faster than she was and more durable. Every possible advantage he could have had, he had.

Except one. She was almost positive he knew nothing of this planet, like how electricity worked. To her left, there was a building with a water hose screwed into a water faucet – likely to wash down the alley opening when it got to be messy.

 _Okay, that'll work._ In one smooth motion, she pulled out a smoke-ball and tossed it at the Kree. It exploded into a cloud of pitch black smoke, obscuring his vision and giving her a chance to sprint for the hose.

"Please work. Please, please." She turned the faucet all the way on and unwrapped the hose.

"RRRAAAAAWWW!" the Kree roared. He charged through the smoke and stampeded right for her.

She held up the hose nozzle. The Kree evidently thought the hose was some kind of super weapon, as he came to a screeching halt. She smirked and squeezed the handle, unleashing a thin torrent of water.

He looked supremely unimpressed. "Water? That is your weapon of choice?" He scoffed and stalked toward her.

"Nope." She raised her stave, already set to maximum voltage. "This is!" She activated the Taser and stuck it into the stream of water. The electricity flowed through the water and into the already wet Kree.

He screamed mightily and jerked sporadically before dropping to the ground, twitching slightly but otherwise unmoving.

"Phew." The faucet was turned off before she ran back to where the inhumans were. She was nearly two-thirds of the way there when an energy bolt barely missed her head. "Shit!"

Five more Kree soldiers marched in, each one armed with a blaster rifle.

"Aw, crap." With just her staves, there was no way she would be able to defend against five enemies, all with a healthy range advantage.

They were poised to fire, and just about did, when five scarlet red tentacles impaled them through their chests. The tentacles lifted them up and discarded them like day old trash.

Bobbi sighed in relief.

"You have my thanks, human," said the owner of the red tentacles. But, upon actually finding their source, Bobbi quickly realized that they weren't tentacles at all. Standing a few dozen feet from her, on the other side of the open space, was a woman dressed in a purple and black body suit. The woman, quite literally, had a waterfall of red hair flowing down behind her. And, unless she was seeing things, the hair was moving. There wasn't a noticeable breeze at all.

"Uh… you have mine as well. I'm Mockingbird, by the way."

"And I am Medusa." Medusa's eyes cut from Bobbi to the inhumans that were still huddled in the corner. She smiled soothingly and relaxed her visage. "It is okay. You are safe now."

"S-safe?" one of them mumbled quietly.

"Yes. Please, you must come with me. We will keep you safe with others like us." Medusa strode toward them and kneeled down to meet their eye level. "We are inhumans. The change you have undergone is a wonderful thing. But, you must come with me so I can keep you safe from the Kree."

While one seemed to hesitate, the other quickly jumped to her feet. "Safety? Yes, thank you!"

Medusa smiled, then looked at the other expectantly.

He hemmed and hawed before finally sighing. "Okay. I'll go too."

She nodded approvingly. "Excellent. I have already gathered all the other inhumans that have undergone the change. They will be joining us." As she stood and turned around, she nodded at Bobbi. "Once again, you and your allies have our deepest appreciation."

"You're welcome." She watched them leave, one by one into the darkness of the alleyway on the opposite end of where she came in from. "Wait! Where are you taking them?"

Medusa didn't answer.

Bobbi ran after her, but they were already gone. Vanished without a trace.

She was alone. While she was grateful to be alive thanks to this Medusa woman, she didn't know if that was enough to warrant her elicit trust. Actually, she did know; it wasn't. She claimed to be an inhuman, but there was no way for certain to determine that. She could have just been a pro-Kree gifted who lied just to gain unrestricted access to every inhuman on the island.

And Bobbi just let her go. Then again, given how easily she dispatched five Kree by herself, Bobbi didn't think she had much of a chance in stopping her.

She could only hope that this didn't come back to bite her.

 _=Hey, Bobbi, how's it coming?=_ Tony asked. He sounded winded. Very winded.

She hesitated to give herself a few seconds to contemplate telling him about Medusa. She decided to withhold that until the mission was complete. "Just fine. Think all the inhumans have been found and gathered, so I'm heading back to the main street to help mop things up."

 _=Roger that.=_

She didn't doubt he knew she was hiding something. In fact, she was banking on it. This was not a conversation she felt needed to be had over the comms. Not with those psychopaths Sabretooth and Mystique listening in.

Though, if she were being honest, keeping them out of the loop was for their own good.


	31. The Widow's Bite

**_The Widow's Bite_**

 **Bangkok, Thailand – 2:08 AM EST**

It took a few minutes, but Natasha remembered why she hated aliens. In just a few short minutes, she was having flashbacks to Manhattan, to the day when the world nearly fell at Loki's feet. In a lot of ways, the Kree and the Chitauri were a lot alike. They both appeared out of nowhere and wreaked absolute havoc. She had been listening to the comm-lines. She heard her teammates across the global report that the Kree had completely overwhelmed whatever city they were invading.

The armies were of no use, as usual. It had become a disturbing trend since the dawn of heroes in the early 2000s. The armies were always the first line of defense. The armies were always the first ones killed in action. Hundreds, maybe thousands of soldiers across the global met a startling end when one villain after another appeared in a bid to take over.

Bangkok, Thailand was no different.

After a while, after seeing so much death – and causing more than her fair share – she had become numb to it. It was a state that no one wanted to find themselves in, but there she was, navigating around an obstacle course of dead bodies in pursuit of a group of Kree cornering who she could only assume was an inhuman. Without so much as a glance downward at the bodies at her feet.

It was that apathy, that coldhearted dismissal that earned her a reputation both amongst their fans and around SHIELD when she was still an agent. The term 'ice queen' was dubbed specifically for the likes of Maria Hill and Melinda May, but the interns and male agents quickly found that it also applied to her, as well. They likened her coldhearted and callous, a woman who only cared about her mission and nothing else.

They weren't wrong.

In many ways, she was precisely mission oriented. It was how she was trained by the Red Room. She was to give no credence to anything other than whatever was pertinent to her mission. For a very long time, that training didn't wear off. In many ways, it still hadn't.

Whether it was socializing with her friends, finding Steve a date during SHIELD operations, or merely washing her clothes, she performed all of these tasked with the same mechanical focus as she did before. No matter how hard she tried, it never went away. At best, she hid it well under a veil of apathy.

And that veil got her criticized more than her callousness did.

 _Maybe I'm doomed to an abnormal life._ It was true; people like her did not live normal lives. A young girl taken from her family at a tender age and raised by cruel, malicious handlers to be a heartless monster hiding behind the supple curves and mesmerizing eyes of a siren; how could anyone expect that person to suddenly, or even gradually, became a well-adjusted person?

No one in their right mind could. It just wasn't possible. She had been trained too rigorously and had been working in the shadowy underworld for too long for it to even be a possibility.

She had come to terms with that years ago. She decided in 2012 that she wanted to be a superhero. And she didn't have to be well-adjusted to be a superhero. Quite the opposite, in fact. Heroes were some of the most mentally disturbed people she knew. Case in point, the diminutive man tearing into an out-of-control ship while laughing like a lunatic.

"AHAHAHHAHAHAHA!"

The ship careened into the side of a building, where it exploded. With any of her other teammates, temporary or otherwise, she would have been worried. But, not with him.

Natasha met the man she knew as Little Uncle decades ago in Canada. She was with the KGB, and he was with Department H. Right from the moment they met, she could tell he was an old soul. A man who had seen more than enough to fill a library of autobiographies. Logan took care of her, watched her back and helped her out when he could. Even after losing much of his memory after being held captive and experimented on by Weapon X, he still remembered her.

The two of them shared a bond that few understood. Two tortured souls who had seen more than any person had a right to, both seeking paths to redemption that placed them squarely outside of their comfort zones.

She never told anyone, but it hurt seeing him fighting alongside the Brotherhood on Genosha the day before. They had been through so much, but he had lost his friends. If she were in his shoes, she would have done the same.

Actually, she was in his shoes. But, not in the same way.

She hadn't lost any friends due to another party's negligence – that she knew of – but _she_ had been killed before, as strange as that still was to think about. The Avengers were killed in the middle of Times Square; yet, she didn't recall seeing any heroes come to their aid. Least of all the X-Men.

If they had, things would have been radically different. A lot of things that transpired in their absence wouldn't have if they hadn't died that day. Perhaps the world would have been a better place; she didn't know.

What she did know was that the X-Men had no room to hold a grudge when the Avengers had no animosity toward them. Actually, she wasn't even sure if they realized it.

 _Didn't know hypocrisy was part of the curriculum at Xavier's,_ she thought bitterly to herself.

 _(It's not,)_ Jean Grey's voice echoed through her head.

Natasha whipped her head around in search for the telepath, nearly crashing into a light pole in the process. She slowed to a stop when she found her. "Stay out of my head."

"I'm sorry," the other redheaded heroine said regretfully. She was levitating several feet above Natasha, a pair of Kree caught in her telekinetic snare beside her. She tossed them aside violently, then did the same to the group of Kree Natasha was chasing. "I try not to read minds without permission, but sometimes, things get through anyway."

She didn't necessarily believe her, but didn't press the issue. "Fine."

"For what it's worth, not all of us wanted to join Magneto."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. There was a lot of back and forth. A lot of people were arguing with their heart. In the end, heart won out." She sighed, one tinged with regret. "I admit, we all got carried away back there. I'm sorry. For everything."

That gave Natasha pause. She hadn't been expecting to have this conversation, much less receiving an apology. As nice as it was to hear, it wasn't the right time. Then again, Jean had been dispatching the Kree in the area while talking. "I accept," she stated. "The others may not."

"I understand. I don't want us to fight, Natasha. And I don't want more tension between us. We already have enough from Rogue and Ms. Marvel."

Natasha wasn't sure what had happened between those two. Steve was very mum about it, and Carol… well, she learned quickly not to mention so much as Rogue's name around her. "I agree."

"Hey Red, we got some people trapped over here!" Logan yelled from a pile of rubble near where he crash landed.

Jean sighed and nodded. "I'll take care of it."

As she left, Natasha tapped her comm. "Sam, what's it looking like up there?"

 _=A complete mess,=_ he answered succinctly. _=Those Kree bastards are everywhere. Could really use some more help.=_

Sam and Jean were the only two members of the team capable of flight, thus making them the only ones who could take out the invading ships. It was the inherent flaw in having to split up the team into as many groups as possible. The invasion had to be stopped quickly, so they didn't have a choice. But that meant that some of their more capable fighters were in different countries.

It was a poor bind to be in, but it was a necessary one for speed's sake.

"If I could sprout wings and shoot fireballs, I'd be of more help." Sam didn't respond right away. She knew why. "It's alright, Sam."

 _=Didn't want to hurt your feelings, Nat.=_

"It'll take a lot more than that."

 _=Maybe we can be of some help.=_ The dryly familiar voice of Phil Coulson rang beautifully like a church choir.

"Maybe you can. Please tell me you have backup."

His answer came in the form of Wakandan quinjets and SHIELD fighter jets roaring through the air. Fifty caliber bullets and cluster missiles courtesy of Stark Industries' old stockpile erupted from the jets, riddling the alien ships with holes that left flight unsustainable.

 _=We can handle the ships from here. Worry about the inhumans. I've already set up a rendezvous point at the following coordinates.=_

"Got it. Thanks, Phil." Natasha sprinted past an unoccupied street. The best way to find inhumans was to look wherever the Kree were looking. They seemed to have some more efficient means of finding them than they did. To be fair, any means at all was more efficient than no means. "Sam, could use some eyes."

She heard his jetpack roaring above a few feet above her. "Where to?"

"Wherever there are a lot of Kree."

"Got it. Having SHIELD and Wakanda here is a big help."

She silently agreed. It was one less thing they had to worry about. Even if they couldn't handle all the ships by themselves, they could certainly hold out until all the inhumans had been found and were in safe hands. "There."

Down a darkened alleyway, the unmistakably large shadowy figures of a battalion of Kree soldiers was marching further into the darkness. If there were that many in one place, then there had to be some inhumans in the same area.

Natasha and Sam hurried after them. Neither of them had any effective means of taking them down. Natasha had her Widow's Bites cranked up to maximum voltage, but she didn't want to get too close too often. Sam only had his pair of submachine guns; which had already proven to be ineffective. Which meant they were going to have to get creative.

"ปล่อยให้เราอยู่คนเดียว!" a woman screamed from further down the alleyway. Seconds later, the ground began trembling. "NO!"

 _{Leave us alone!}_

Natasha stumbled and fell to the ground. She could see sizable cracks forming, crisscrossing and running under the buildings' foundations. If whatever the source of the trembling was continued, a lot of damage was going to be done.

Sam stopped to help her up. "Forget about me. Help them!"

He nodded and flew as fast as he could into the alleyway. There, he found two Thai women being cornered by six Kree soldiers. "Shit!" He pulled out and lobbed a flash grenade just as the Kree were about to attack.

It exploded, filling the alley with a blinding light. Without wasting a second, he swooped down and grabbed the two women to fly them to safety. "Got two more coming in," he reported to the rendezvous point. "I'll be right back, Nat."

With the inhuman woman being taken to safety, the trembling stopped. Natasha stood up and activated her Widow's Bite bracelets. "Take your time. I got this."

 _=What?! No, just hang back and wait for backup!=_

"Too late." With that, she sprinted into the alleyway. The six Kree were still disoriented from the flashbang. _Perfect._ She charged ahead and dropkicked one out of the way. She moved like a stream of water around rapids. She weaved around the flailing arms and blindly swung weapons.

 _Didn't T'Challa say that these bastards are wearing facemasks? All I have to do is pull them down._ With that in mind, she did exactly that to the one nearest her.

He grabbed his throat, wheezing for air. The more air he gulped in, however, the more strangled and choked he got. Within seconds of breathing in the poisonous air, the Kree passed out, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

Natasha smirked to herself and quickly reciprocated her actions with two more. Before they knew she was there, their forces had been cut in half.

It was a good start, but she was still outnumbered and outmatched.

One of the Kree snarled and tightened the grip on her axe. "Wretched earth worm!" she roared. She charged side by side with one of her comrades, energy axe shining in the morning sunlight.

Natasha ducked and rolled to safety. Brief safety, though; the third Kree was on her in an instant. She dodged his sword swing and quickly shimmied up his mammoth body until she was perched on his shoulders.

The female Kree roared and swung her axe without thinking. Natasha leaped off his shoulders, letting the axe carve through his thick armor and through his spinal cord.

His limp corpse fell silently into a lifeless heap.

"No!"

Natasha rolled through the landing and threw a pair of electric disks at the Kree. They were too sturdy to be affected for long; but Natasha didn't need long to take them out. With smooth, fluid movement, she slipped in close to remove their helmets, sentencing them to the same fate as their previous three brethren.

She didn't allow herself the chance to even sigh in relief. Kree had been crawling seemingly out of every crack and crevice so far; she had no reason to believe that had changed.

"Tasha, I'm… back…" Sam touched down beside her, not even trying to hide the incredulous gawk when he took in the six dead Kree around her.

She shrugged and hid her smirk by turning around. "Told you I had it covered."

Sam smiled. "That's what I get for doubting you. Good job."

The number of Kree ships had dwindled dramatically since SHIELD and Wakanda arrived to provide much needed backup. She had no doubt that Logan and Jean were having little trouble on the main streets.

From the looks of things, they were just about finished. "How are things at the rendezvous point?"

"Jam packed," he answered. "There were a lot of inhumans, but most were family members who had gotten caught up in the action."

She turned and started to head back to the main street. "Figures. I doubt these guys have any reliable way to detect inhumans. Just drop their bombs and hack everyone who's nearby."

"Yeah, but they're safe now."

"They won't be safe until Ronan is dead. There isn't a place on Earth that can stand up to him."

He sighed heavily. "Yeah."

"Hey, have you heard from Scott?"

His brow creased from thought. "No. Not since we got here and he went small."

Her brow matched his. "Scott, come in," she spoke into the comm.

There was no response.

"Scott? Scott!"

 _=I'm here. Sorry, sorry.=_ He sounded winded. _=Almost done.=_

It was a relief to here that he was okay, but it would have helped if he had have checked in at some point since they arrived. "Okay. Where are you and what are you doing?"

 _=On the battleship.=_ Before she could voice her displeasure, he quickly added, _=I'm about to send the ship to the Microverse.=_

"The what now?"

Again, he didn't answer right away. _=Man, these guys really don't like it when you try and hijack their ship.=_

She could hear laser fire in the background. It wasn't that she was worried that he was going to be killed. Scott was much more capable and versatile than anyone really realized, himself included. It was that she didn't want Janet getting on her back if he got hurt.

 _=Okay, done. I'm outta here.=_

"Meet us at the SHIELD rendezvous point. Were there any more inhumans onboard?"

 _=Not that I could tell. I think we had gotten here just in time.=_

"Alright." She turned to Sam and shook her head. "He's crazy."

Sam nodded in agreement.

 _=I heard that!=_

"Good. The last thing I want is to hear Janet bitch at me endlessly because you got blown to bits."

The main street was riddled with dead Kree. Some had their necks snapped and limbs broken. Those were the lucky ones. Those that weren't as fortunate were hacked to pieces. Some of the corpses were missing limbs while others were missing heads.

"Man, guy doesn't mess around," Sam marveled.

"No. No, he doesn't." Her Little Uncle was the best there was at what he did. And what he did wasn't very nice.


	32. Treacherous Allies

_**Treacherous Allies**_

" **REPORT!"**

The poor Kree soldier who had the misfortune of being within reach of Ronan the Accuser buckled under his heavy gaze. He swallowed nervously and looked away. "S-s-supreme Accuser, th-the invasion has been thwarted. All eleven warships have been destroyed and over 90% of our forces have been either captured or killed. In addition, the terrans have made a concerted effort to save the abominations."

It was true. In a matter of a few short hours, the entire invasion, which spanned across eleven countries, had been defeated.

Ronan himself had gotten word of a large settlement of inhumans, and decided to go there himself to investigate. He was so busy with that endeavor that he had neglected to stay abreast of the invasion. He had no reason to believe he needed to. In his mind, and in the minds of countless billions, the Kree army was the most powerful in the universe.

It was a boast that had plenty of evidence to back it up. Their empire spanned entire galaxies. There was not a world that existed that could stand up to their might for very long. All eventually fell before them.

Except this one.

He already knew prior to the invasion that Earth had super-powered beings of their own. This was no different than any of the other worlds that had been assimilated into the Kree Galactic Empire.

It shouldn't have been possible, but they had withstood, and even surpassed, the might of the Kree army.

Ronan snarled and tossed the soldier away like garbage. "It is not possible. THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE!" His fist slammed into a nearby console, smashing it into pieces of mangled metal. "WE ARE THE KREE! WE ARE THE MOST POWERFUL FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE! THESE TERRANS ARE NOTHING BUT SNIVELING EARTHWORMS COMPARED TO US!"

No one dared say a word.

His entire army, gone. In an instant, seemingly.

"How are they even still alive? I destroyed the island with them still standing there. It should not be possible."

And yet, it had happened. There was no way Ronan was going to be able to gather and destroy all the inhumans by himself. Even with the power gem at his disposal, there would still be some who would elude him. Not to mention, he hadn't even begun to search for the missing mind gem, which he had been told was on Earth.

He could not return to Hala without completing his mission. And he could not return to Thanos empty handed.

A slight shudder ran through his body as he recalled the Mad Titan's chilling threat.

' _I will honor our agreement, Kree, if you bring me the mind gem. But, return to me again empty handed, and I will_ _ **bathe the star-ways in your blood**_.'

There was little doubt in Ronan's mind that Thanos could make good on such an impossible feat. He would not fail. He could not fail. If he did, a fate worse than Death herself awaited him.

"How long until we breach the shield?"

"It will not be much longer, Supreme Accuser."

* * *

Steve and his team were surprisingly the first ones to make their way back to Dr. Strange's manor. Going to any of the Avengers facilities or the X-Mansion wasn't even a consideration. The notion of letting two scumbags like Viper and Strucker inside any kind of superhero headquarters was absurd.

Then again, the notion of allying with Hydra, no matter the stakes, was something he would have thought was absurd even a few hours ago.

He desperately wished that he had given it more thought than he did. He wished he had just stuck by his guns and said no. He wished he hadn't compromised and struck a deal with his very worst enemy.

He wished Kitty would stop glaring at him.

He wished a lot of things, none of which were going to come true no matter how badly he wanted them to.

Desperation got the best of him. At the time, the odds seemed insurmountable. Right then, they still did. Defeating the Kree invasion force was one thing, defeating Ronan with the power gem was another thing completely. Fury was right, they were going to need all the help they could get.

If living through this meant swallowing the bile that rose from the very thought of working shoulder to shoulder with Hydra, then so be it.

If that was his resolve, why did he still feel so horrible? Why did he feel terrible doing what he had to make sure the human race lived to see the next sunrise?

Tony spoke of compromises that a hero sometimes had to make in order to save the day. Steve understood where he was coming from, but he didn't compromise. Too many compromises changed who a man was for the worse. It eroded his convictions and made him more complacent to evil in the name of 'the greater good'.

That was what Fury had become. The moment he became Nick Fury was the moment he had to hang his shield up.

"Welcome back, Captain," Wong greeted when he stepped in. "I trust all went well in Berlin." He regarded Viper and Strucker passively.

"We survived and the invasion was thwarted. So, yeah, it went well." That was the only good thing he could say.

Another team, Luke's, walked in next. "Cap, how'd it—" he started before noticing that Hydra's top two agents were standing in their midst. "What the hell?"

Steve sighed. He hadn't thought about it, but that kind of reaction was the only one of many negative ones he was going to receive. The others hadn't forgotten the time when Hydra tried to take over the world with their three Insight minicarriers.

"Yeah."

He could have just thrown Fury under the bus and said that it was all his idea, but that wasn't his way. It wasn't fair to hide his part in this venomous alliance.

One by one, the teams returned from their missions across the globe. One by one, they expressed some level of surprise and even disgust at seeing Hydra in their midst and seeing that Steve wasn't as angry about it as they thought he should have been.

Some questioned his decision. He offered no argument or defense. He had no right. They were right to question him. He was questioning whether he was making the right decision.

"So, what, Steve?" Tony said, hands up in complete confusion. "We're working with terrorists, now?"

"Not just any kind of terrorist, Tony. _Nazi_ terrorists," Clint corrected. He regarded the Avengers leader with sheer disbelief. "Come on, Cap. These are your worst enemies."

"They aren't just _his_ worst enemy," Magneto stated. Unlike the others, he wasn't surprised or disappointed to see Hydra; or more specifically, Strucker.

The history between the two wasn't publicly known, but it was clear that they knew each other from a long time ago. It was known that Strucker was a part of the Red Skull's inner circle, along with Baron Heinrich Zemo and Dr. Arnim Zola. Erik's mutant ability manifested while he was in the concentration camp; perhaps Skull wanted to experiment on him in order to replicate it. He wouldn't have put it passed those madmen.

If that was the case, Magneto was biding his time to exact his revenge. He hoped he would hold off until the Kree were destroyed. Not that he wanted or even needed Strucker alive; Viper was more than enough to lead whatever force Hydra had left. It was that they couldn't afford any infighting at this critical moment. And he was sure that Dr. Strange did not want any bloodshed in his home.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm not working with these clowns," Tony said unwaveringly. Some of the others nodded in agreement. In fact, there wasn't a single person who didn't agree with him. "I know I told you that some compromises have to be made, but this isn't one of them."

"Whatever do you mean, Herr Stark? There is no compromise that shouldn't be made when survival is at stake." Baron Zemo strolled in casually, as though he hadn't shot Tony in the head three years ago. Behind him were his usual running mates, Mandarin and Moonstone. In addition, behind them were new Masters of Evil Songbird, Scorpion, Titania, and Gypsy Moth.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Clint jumped up and notched his last arrow. He wasn't alone. Every firearm and superpower was drawn, charged and ready to let loose a torrent of unholy vengeance against their most bitter enemies. "What the fuck are you assholes doing here?"

If Zemo was concerned about the weapons being pointed in his face, his posture didn't betray it. Instead, he chuckled jovially. "Why Herr Barton, is this how you greet an old friend?"

"I wouldn't push my luck, if I were you," Natasha hissed. "You're only still alive because we respect Strange enough not to damage his home."

"Talk!" Thor bellowed. "Explain yourself, or suffer my wrath sooner than otherwise."

Zemo took a moment to glance at the four members who hadn't been there to take part in the war with the Avengers. "Did I not tell you?" He turned back to the incensed heroes. "If you must know… actually, why don't you tell them, Herr Parker?"

Peter had been hoping to disappear ever since the villains walked in. The moment his name was called aloud, he wanted to sink through the floor, preferably into some alternate dimension. Whatever was there wouldn't compare to what was about to happen to him. "Aw, man."

"Peter, what's going on?"

All eyes were on him. Angry, tense, and waiting for any excuse to lash out. Most of all, though, anxious to know how their teammate played into this.

Peter rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, we ran into these guys in London." His fist clenched tightly. "We didn't _want_ their help. We _needed_ it. The Kree had these robots that we couldn't even put a scratch in. But she," he cocked his head toward Karla, "could just phase through them."

"So, you brought them along anyway," Tony said, disappointment coloring his words.

Scott Summers sighed heavily. "Actually, that was my call."

His wife glanced at him and frowned.

"We've been in this kind of situation before, when we had to work with the Brotherhood to save the Professor from Apocalypse. We didn't like it, but we did what we had to in order to save him. Ronan is obviously a lot more powerful, but the same thing applies here. We saw what Ronan did on Genosha; and that may not have been his full power. Disagree if you want, but we can't leave any options on the table. Steve already realizes that."

Scott was right. If they wanted to survive the fight against the remaining Kree army, they were going to need all the help they could get. That meant everyone, even the Masters of Evil.

"We didn't have a choice back there, Cap," Peter offered. "Those Kree robots were tough."

That, he knew first hand. "I know. My team faced them in Berlin. We managed to beat them with SHIELD tech, that was actually Hydra tech."

"So, I could have just walked right through them," Kitty scoffed. "Lovely. All this headache for nothing."

This was becoming an absolute nightmare. Steve made a tough call in Berlin; tougher than many he had to make in the past. He was just told that his call wasn't even necessary for their immediate survival, that one of his own team could have gotten them out of the bind without a problem. He felt like an absolute fool. "Unbelievable."

"I can confidently say that this isn't going at all how I thought it would." Janet sat down next to Scott Lang. There wasn't any point in posturing like they were going to fight, since everyone knew that Strange wouldn't allow it. Wherever he was. "No one's blaming you, Peter. We know that you did what you had to."

"Thanks."

"Well, Rogers," Zemo said calmly. "You have already decided to ally yourself with your worst enemy in a false sense of self-preservation. I must admit, even I am surprised by that."

"I don't need you to tell me that, Zemo," he spat in reply.

"Even still, what will you decide? Will you go against your word and renege on your allegiance with Hydra just because to carry through would mean allying yourself with _us_ , as well? Or, will you make good on your word, and prove what I said all those years ago: that there is no place for idealists in the world? I am certain that Herr Parker is waiting with bated breath to follow your lead. Will you set a good example for the young spider, or will you prove to be the coward that I've always known you to be?"

Steve growled to himself, his fist clenched so tightly, his knuckles grew white. _Damn him!_ He knew the decision he had to make. He had no choice but to work with the Masters, because he had already set that precedent by working with Hydra. If he didn't know any better, he would have thought this was all a setup to make him look bad. "I'll think about it," he said through clenched teeth.

To that, Zemo shook his head and laughed. "Ever the fool, too afraid to upset anyone. Too afraid to stick to your guns, out of fear of some simpleton throwing a hissy fit." He glanced at Kitty and chuckled again. "Very well. We await your decision with bated breath."

"Why don't you go take a long walk off a short pier to pass the time," Luke suggested.

He didn't respond.

The Masters of Evil filed out in line, followed quickly by Strucker and Viper. Once again, the only villains in the room were the Brotherhood. Soon, however, they too left through a different exit. All but Magneto and Polaris, that was.

Clint groaned and slumped down on the floor. "This cannot be happening!"

Bobbi sat down next to him. "So, any other stops on the Questionable Ally Grand Tour? Loki? Hitler? Satan?"

"My boyfriend's sister has Satan's daughter on speed dial," Kitty said.

"You're joking, right?"

She shrugged one shoulder. "I wish I was, but I'm not."

"It grows worse still, my friends," Thor stated. When all eyes were on him, he continued gravely. "After I defeated the Kree in Brazil, Mahr-Vehl approached me with grave news. He—"

"Mahr-Vehl? He's here?" Carol asked anxiously.

He nodded. "Aye. He even asked of your whereabouts. Unfortunately, I was unable to tell him, as I did not know."

It was clear she was disappointed, but also excited. "Okay. Sorry for interrupting."

"Think nothing of it. Mahr-Vehl told me that Ronan and the rest of his invasion fleet have found a large settlement of inhumans. Hidden in a mountain range somewhere in the eastern hemisphere. Lady Jocasta is attempting to divine the exact location as I speak."

Tony pulled his phone out. "Jo?"

" _I am sorry, but I cannot locate any Kree vessels anywhere."_

He cursed. "It must be cloaked, then."

"Damn it. If it's not one thing, it's another." Steve moved to an unoccupied space so he could pace and think.

"There is little doubt that Ronan already knows that his invasion has been thwarted," T'Challa said. "If we go there to stop him, he will throw whatever he has left at us."

"Or worse, face us himself," Storm added.

He nodded. "As much as it sickens me to admit, Captain, Zemo is correct. We will need his aid if we are to survive. And more importantly, if the inhumans are to, as well."

T'Challa was, of course, correct. That meant that there was no choice. It wasn't for their good or survival, but the inhumans'. "Goddamn it."

"This cannot be happening," Clint repeated.

"Sometimes, we must make sacrifices for the sake of others," Beast said sagely. "Even if that sacrifice causes us a great deal of discomfort. In the end, Hawkeye, it will be worth it."

"He's right. Someone who can stomach their presence for more than a second go tell them that they're in. But, they follow my orders to the letter."

Rogue got up and went to go find them.

Steve sighed and stopped pacing. "When they come back, we'll start going over a plan to stop Ronan and save those inhumans. I doubt they'll last very long against him."

The others murmured in agreement.

"I refuse," Magneto declared unflinchingly. "I will not do one more thing to help those cursed inhumans."

"What? Why?"

"What is it _this_ time?" Wanda exclaimed exasperatedly.

The Master of Magnetism narrowed his eyes menacingly. "For the simple reason that the very mist that turns these homo sapiens into these inhuman abominations _kills_ mutants."


	33. Sterilization

_**Sterilization**_

"What are you talking about, Erik?" Cyclops demanded. "I haven't heard anything about this."

"Unsurprising." Magneto, who had been standing in the far corner away from the others, moved until he was in the center of the room. "I myself did not discover this travesty until I defeated the Kree in Japan."

* * *

 _ **~Two Hours Ago**_

 _ **Tokyo, Japan**_

 _It only took Magneto a few minutes to fully dispatch the invading force besieging Tokyo, Japan. It only took him that long because the ground forces were so well spread out across the entire city. Even still, he finished them in quick order._

 _His mind boggled at his current predicament. Just a few hours ago, he was waging the war with the human race that he had been threatening for decades. His fellow mutants, the X-Men, had wisely chosen his side, and had even defeated the Avengers. His followers, those who came from across the globe to seek refuge from the barbarous treatment beset upon them by ruthless humanity, had come within a hair's breadth of defeating the human army._

 _He was so close to tasting victory and freedom. His beloved mutants were so close to finally taking their rightful place as humanity's superiors. And yet, it did not come to pass._

 _They were right at the finish line, when the entire race track was engulfed in flames._

 _The Kree appeared out of nowhere and launched a harrowing attack on his sovereign island nation. Mutants, his people, were killed without remorse. Why they chose his island to launch their opening salvo, he did not know. What he did know was that the very moment they attacked his island, they waged war not just against mutantkind, but against him._

 _The destruction of Genosha and the murders of millions of innocent mutants was an affront that garnered no forgiveness. He would hunt down every last one of these invaders and make them pay dearly by himself, if need be._

 _But, he didn't have to. By his side were the X-Men, as before, as well as the Avengers. The very same Avengers who had proven themselves to be thorns in his side for weeks. That he found himself allying himself and the rest of the Brotherhood with them so quickly after all that had preceded was disturbing. But, he was willing to do what he needed to in order to avenge those slain by the Kree, Ronan the Accuser._

 _Magneto didn't know what an infinity gem was, nor did he care. No matter what kind of power Ronan possessed, he was going to fall by his hands._

 _He floated silently in the nighttime sky, arms folded as he took note of the humans slowly coming out of hiding. Some who noticed him pointed up, eventually drawing everyone's attention away from the devastation surrounding them and onto him._

 _He couldn't hear what they were saying from his high altitude, but he didn't have to. He already knew that they couldn't believe that the leader of the mutant uprising had just rescued them from the invasion. He could hardly believe it himself. "You're welcome," he spoke, his voice easily carrying over the then silent city._

" _Magneto, help us!" cried a woman from amongst the gawking masses._

 _He searched for the source of the outcry, and found the woman waving her arm in the air frantically. She was kneeling down next to another woman. The second woman wasn't moving._

 _He sighed and lowered himself down quickly until he was floating a few feet away from her. His initial thought was that she was a mutant, since she called out to him specifically, unlike the others, who chose to simply gawk and murmur._

 _The people around them backed away slowly, obviously still afraid of the mutant leader. "What happened?"_

" _The mist took our powers away!" she screeched._

 _As he suspected, they were mutants. "What do you mean? What mist?"_

" _The mist from the bombs," she explained. "When they dropped their bombs, the entire city was engulfed by this white mist. Some people were trapped in black shells. When I and my wife breathed it in… I could feel my power disappearing." To demonstrate, she extended her hand and scrunched her face up in desperate exertion. To her consternation, nothing happened. "See?! My wife, she was flying to get away from the bombs, but she breathed it in and then dropped to the ground. She hasn't moved since."_

 _The woman sobbed bitterly. It was clear as day that she saw the value of her power and strength. It being snatched away from her so suddenly was horrifying enough; but to have the same happen to someone she loved…_

 _Magneto grew incensed. If he had known what the cost of these inhumans gaining their powers was to mutants, he would have never agreed to help them. If anything, he would have joined the Kree in wiping them off the face of the planet. "I will make sure your powers are restored," he promised._

 _That wasn't the only thing he was going to make sure of. He would see to it that the Kree were stopped before they could drop any more of their bombs and sterilize any more mutants. He would also see to it that the inhumans saved that night were punished for the part they played in his people's suffering._

* * *

The room grew silent. None of the other teams had heard anything of the sort. Almost every team had at least one mutant on it, and everyone still had their powers.

Steve folded his arms across his chest. While Magneto had been proven to use sensationalism to draw people to his cause, he wasn't one to outright lie.

Anything having to do with mutants was a touchy subject for Magneto, so no one said anything right away. What could they say? They knew just as much as he did.

"Now do you understand?" Magneto asked those present. He glanced around, making eye contact with his fellow mutants. "These inhumans are a death knell for mutantkind. It is imperative that we prevent any more of this terrigen mist from being produced, or else it will mean the end of us."

"You're full of shit, Lensherr," Logan spat. "Every last one of us was down there where those bombs hit, and ain't one of us lost our powers."

"Are you calling me a liar?" he said dangerously.

"Maybe, maybe not. But, it is very convenient that this happens the moment the attention shifts from mutants to some other potentially oppressed minority." Pietro sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "Perhaps you're right. Perhaps the terrigen mist does adversely affect mutant DNA. That changes nothing. It is still our responsibility to aid these people, with or without powers. That, I believe, is what makes us heroes and you not."

"He is right, Erik," Ororo agreed. "Regardless of the danger, we must do what we can to help them. If you don't, then you are a hypocrite. Is that a label you wish to live with?"

"And more to the point," Cyclops added, "this entire conversation is moot. We can prevent more terrigen mist from falling and maybe negating mutant abilities by stopping the Kree. The rest of the Kree are going after those inhumans Thor talked about."

"Regardless of your reasoning, you're going to have to come with us," Jean finished.

Magneto scoffed and headed for the same exit his Brotherhood went through minutes earlier. "We will see about that." He walked out, his daughter close behind him. Before he left completely, however, he placed a vial on a small table by the door.

Wanda growled and fisted her hair roughly. "That man is so stubborn! Even when you soundly put his worries at rest, he still persists!"

"He does have a point, though," Tony said. "The guy's thinking about the future. Specifically, _your_ future. Say Ronan drops another bomb on that settlement to turn any stragglers and you guys get caught up in it. There go your powers. There go the X-Men's most potent, most experienced members. Xavier wakes up from his coma and finds that his go-to team of mutant defenders lost their powers, probably for good."

"We don't know if he's telling the truth, though," Kitty rebutted. "It's not the first time he's lied and made some 'threat' to mutants sound worse than it actually was."

"What if he isn't lying? Is that a risk you'd be willing to take?"

Silence once again swept through the room. As strange as it sounded for anyone to defend Magneto, they felt that Tony had a good point. Was doing their part to save the inhumans from Ronan's imminent attack worth possibly losing their powers? They didn't have an answer because too many pertinent questions remained.

"The main issue in this conundrum, is whether the terrigen mist really neutralizes the mutant x-gene or merely suppresses it?" Beast spoke contemplatively. "If it is the latter, then for how long? And is there a way to mitigate or perhaps even reverse its effect? The former is, of course, much more worrisome for our long-term survival; both at the hands of the unwitting Kree and if a sample were to fall into the knowing hands of our innumerable enemies. There is only one way to find decisive answers to these queries." He walked over to the small table by the door and picked up the vial. Holding it up to the light, he saw that it was full of a whitish cloudy gas. "And that is to run a series of tests."

"It's probably a bad idea to run those tests at the mansion," Kitty said. Beast nodded in agreement.

"The Avengers Mansion isn't too far from here, Dr. McCoy," Peter suggested. "We have a fully stocked lab and everything."

"That, Mr. Parker, will be satisfactory."

"I'll go with you to speed things along," Bobbi offered.

"Yeah, me too!"

"Many hands make the load lighter, as they say." Beast smiled and gestured for them to follow him. "I will report in the moment we have conclusive findings one way or the other."

Cyclops nodded. "Right then. Good luck."

When they departed, Steve huffed out a heavy sigh and sat down on the floor. The room was still silent, so he could hear the ticking of the large oak grandfather clock that was sitting in the hallway. The oak floor beneath him was impeccably clean. He supposed it had to be. Even a single speck of dust could have thrown a spell into disarray and spelled disaster for the entire planet.

Or maybe not. Maybe Wong had nothing better to do. He didn't know. Dr. Strange didn't look like he required much in the way of service.

"Okay." Kitty's soft voice sounded like a foghorn against the deafening quiet. "Say Hank finds that Magneto is right, that this terrigen stuff sterilizes mutants. What then? Do we just stay here?"

That sounded like it was directed at Cyclops, so Steve stayed quiet.

Scott Summers licked his lips deliberately, his eyes glued to the floor. Everything that he, Ororo and Jean said was true. Despite the risks, it was their duty as heroes to do all they could to help the inhumans at that settlement against Ronan and whatever was left of his forces. At the same time, however, Tony was right, also. If it turned out to be true, and Ronan dropped more terrigen bombs – for whatever reason – the X-Men were going to lose their powers. After all of the conversation they had earlier about accepting help where they could get it, that was the absolute last thing they could afford to have happen.

Not just for this one battle, but for the future. The world needed the X-Men, no matter how much it wanted to say otherwise.

Not only that, but this needed to stay as far under wraps as possible. If the Friends of Humanity or MRD or any other anti-mutant organization got wind of a possible surefire way to rid themselves of all present mutants and any future mutants, it was going to be hell on Earth for them.

"I want to wait and hear what Hank finds," Scott eventually answered. Which translated to 'I don't know'.

It was a tough spot to be in. One that Steve didn't have much experience in. Even if he did have some measure of experience, any words of advice he could offer would only fall on deaf ears. He just didn't have the perspective to tell them how to react.

Tick tock, tick tock, said the grandfather clock. Seconds ticked away one by one, bringing them one step closer to facing Ronan. Whether they would have the X-Men by their side remained to be seen, but the Avengers had no such worries. Wanda and Pietro resolved to joined their human allies, regardless of the dangers.

For the rest of them, the dangers were much more straightforward. That being Ronan and his power gem. Though, to himself, he determined that particular issue was much more pressing. If they couldn't stop Ronan, the mutants wouldn't have to worry about being sterilized and going extinct, so to speak.

They were all going to go extinct.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Sorry for the long wait, guys. Work's been busy and I've been too drained to work on anything other than sleep._


	34. A Trip Down Memory Lane

_**A Trip Down Memory Lane**_

 **Greenwich Village, New York**

"I'll tell you one thing, Coulson. Those heroes sure pulled my ass out of the fire," Brand admitted as she, Coulson and May drove through the near empty Manhattan streets. The three of them, armed with all the intel they could gather on the Kree in a few short hours, were headed for the Sanctum Sanctorum. SHIELD and SWORD stood no chance against someone with the power to destroy an entire island, but they could help the people who did.

"They've pulled all our fats out of the fire more times than I care to remember," he agreed. "But, let's not fool ourselves into thinking that this is over."

It was a quick, but somber reminder. They knew that only nine of the ten ships had been reported as being destroyed. They also knew that the leader, Ronan, was still at large, and was in possession of an infinity gem similar to Loki's mind gem. One that allowed him to completely destroy Genosha with one blast, landmass and all; a feat even the most powerful nuclear weapon couldn't accomplish.

They couldn't kid themselves. No one at SHIELD stood a chance against that kind of power. Ronan was just on a different level than what they were used to facing on a daily basis. But, just because they couldn't help in the fight, didn't mean they couldn't help at all.

While the Avengers and X-Men were putting a stop to the invasion in record time, SHIELD and SWORD were gathering as much intel as they could find. That included whether or not the terrigen mist was lethal to humans. To humans, it was harmless.

To mutants, it wasn't. Three different experiments yielded the same results. Terrigen mist nullified active mutant abilities. It was strongly speculated that it also sterilized any potential mutants.

It was estimated that up to 45% of the mutant population migrated to Genosha. 45% of the mutant population was killed when Ronan obliterated Genosha. Coulson wasn't sure how many mutants were left in the cities the Kree invaded in the last few hours, but he was certain that the mutant population had dropped even further.

The NYPD and national guard were doing a fine job keeping the streets clear in the wake of the invasion. Even if the majority of the Kree's army had been defeated, it still wasn't safe. Because of the empty streets, the drive the Strange's manor was a short one. The townhouse was already in view at the end of the street.

"When we get there," Coulson said to Brand, "make sure you don't touch anything. If you get sucked into another dimension because you did, you're just shit outta luck."

Brand's lips twisted into a moue as she swept a lock of green hair that had escaped her bun. "I'll keep that in mind."

May parked the inconspicuous black SUV they were riding in on the side of the street next to the front gate. "I'm staying out here."

Coulson nodded. "We won't be long." He and Brand climbed out and stepped through the unlocked gate and toward the front door.

"So, Strange… is what they say about him true?"

Coulson quirked an eyebrow. "Depends on what it is that 'they' say."

"That he's some kind of magician."

At that, he chuckled loudly. "To call Stephen Strange 'some kind of magician' would be like calling Charles Xavier 'some kind of psychic."

Her eyebrows raised, but she said nothing more.

Before Coulson could knock, the door opened with Wong standing expectantly on the other side. "Director Coulson, Director Brand. We've been expecting you. Right this way."

 _Well, that's disturbing._ "Thanks. I trust everyone is already here."

"Indeed. Dr. Strange and I both agree that they have done better than could be possibly expected."

"Then, we're all in agreement."

As they walked, Brand leaned in to whisper to Coulson. "How did he know we were here? I didn't see any cameras."

"Magic," he answered with a whimsical wiggle of his fingers.

Her annoyed moue returned full force.

"So, what do we do in the mean time?" they heard Kitty ask from further down the hall.

"Share what we know, then form some kind of plan," Steve answered.

"Maybe we can be of help with that," Coulson said as they walked in.

"Coulson, glad to see you." Steve frowned when he noticed Brand standing beside him. "Ma'am."

With a hand jabbed into her hip, she answered proudly. "Abigail Brand, director of SWORD."

Coulson forgot to warn her to hide her occupation from the heroes, seeing as how it was her job to prevent invasions from happening.

Everyone but two people looked utterly perplexed. "What's SWORD?" Jen asked.

Brand hesitated, realizing her folly. "Ah… we are like SHIELD, except we deal with extraterrestrial threats."

"Oh, you mean like the Kree?" It didn't look like anyone was terribly impressed with Brand or her organization. "I hope they fire you."

She sighed angrily. Having her failure thrown back in her face was a pet peeve. As it was with anyone, but especially with someone who had the survival of an entire planet depend on her ability to do her job. "Look, we fucked up. We get that. But, three out of four ain't bad."

Whatever amused expression Tony had been carrying evaporated. "There have been _four_ invasions? I thought—"

"That there have only been two? That means I've done my job well enough. You're welcome." Her arms folded across her chest. "Now, if you're done, we have intel on the Kree. Do you want the good news or bad news first?"

"Bad," Cyclops answered after a moment of hesitance.

"We ran several extensive tests on the terrigen mist to determine whether it was lethal to humans." She noticed the room grew tense, especially the mutants. "It isn't, but it does neutralize mutant abilities and possibly sterilizes potential mutants."

"Goddamn it." Scott Summers shot up from one of the sofas and almost walked out. Just before he reached the agents, he stopped. "How many of us were hit?"

"I'm not sure," Coulson answered. "I've got some agents working on determining the numbers, but it'll take some time. We don't know how many mutants left those cities for Genosha."

"I see."

"Unbelievable," Wanda hissed. "He was right."

"So he is," her brother responded. "But, this changes nothing in my mind. Even if the danger is evident, I'm still going. If only because the alternative means staying here to listen to Magneto brag about being right and plot unnecessary revenge."

Coulson raised an eyebrow as he regarded the two mutant twins. Apparently, Magneto had already experienced what they were talking about. He supposed it was too much to hope for that he had fallen victim. "I see we just reaffirmed what you already know. Then, we'll move on." He placed a small black box on the coffee table that was in the center of the room. The translucent opening at the top emitted a blue light that expanded into a holographic image of the globe. There were three solid globs: two at the north and south poles, and one around the Himalayas.

"Seems we were wrong about our original estimate. There are actually two more ships that we didn't notice when the invasion began." He tapped one of the ships to enlarge it. It wasn't nearly as large as the remaining battleship, and was more of an elongated shape, with two wings pointing downward at 45° angles. "We don't know what their function is, but it can't be good. I understand your main concern is the inhuman civilization in the Himalayas, but I would prefer if at least a few of you checked out these ships."

Steve and Scott scrutinized the map critically. The two tacticians were already formulating a game plan, thinking about who they had available and who was best to scout the ships.

"And the good news?" Jean asked.

He nodded and tapped the battleship over the Himalayas. "We found the final battleship, right over the inhuman civilization here." There was a marker indicating exactly where the settlement was located.

Steve frowned heavily. "How long have you known that was there?"

"Not long. They've managed to stay well-hidden for decades. Not even Fury knew about them." It could have been seen as a tongue-in-cheek comment, but it was a testament to how well they managed to stay off of humanity's radar for so long.

"If Fury didn't know about them, how the hell did you find out?"

"I'm a lot more capable than you think, Wolverine. I have more… pertinent contacts." He pulled a vial filled with blue liquid from his jacket pocket. "This is a toxin we've managed to synthesize from a sample of Kree blood we had on hand. Don't know if it works, wouldn't mind if you could test it out for us."

The Avengers knew what he was talking about. They knew he had been looking into the circumstances of his resurrection. While he was mum on the exact procedure, they knew that said procedure was derived from a Kree corpse Fury had hidden in a secret bunker.

Steve took the vial from Coulson. "I assume this isn't the only sample you have?"

"We have three cases in the truck outside. Not much, but hopefully enough to take the rest down."

"But, not Ronan." When Coulson raised an eyebrow, Steve elaborated. "He has an infinity gem. Meaning we can pump him with all the toxin you have, and it still won't work."

"Not until we relieve him of the power gem," Ororo added.

He nodded. "I see. I suppose that means you'll be sending all of your heavy hitters for civilization?"

Scott nodded. "Right. We'll spare who we can and send them for the two other ships, but he's our main priority."

"Fair enough. SHIELD will send whatever we can to help out." Whatever they had left after Hydra's reveal a year ago. It was amazing that SHIELD even still existed, let alone was in a position to help as much as they had. To say that no one trusted them after that fiasco was no exaggeration. For the longest time, Coulson operated in the shadows. For the longest time, no one except the Avengers knew that they still existed.

"We appreciate it."

"Guess I'll take care of that," Monica volunteered.

Steve nodded after several moments of reluctance. He was really hoping to have her during the battle with Ronan, but he supposed that if anyone was capable of stealthily checking out an alien ship, it was her. "Okay. But, do not engage. We can't afford to lose anyone right now."

"Got it." As she walked out to leave, the others started to converse among themselves again. Everyone except one, that was.

Logan ducked out quietly shortly after Monica left. He sniffed the air once and easily picked up the scent he wanted. It didn't take him long to find the person he wanted to see.

It had been years since he had seen her, the woman he called his wife once upon a time. True, Logan called many women his wife. Such was the consequence to living for over two hundred years. Though, this one was different.

It all started on Madripoor. Ninety years ago, when Logan was studying under the tutilage of the spy and assassin Seraph, he met Viper, a young mercenary and fellow student of Seraph's. Seraph died, but not before making Logan swear an oath of loyalty to Viper. Viper used that oath to her advantage to force Logan to marry her, so she could coerce her way onto Madripoor's unclaimed throne.

It worked.

During her reign as princess, Viper was attacked and possessed by the demonic ninja spirit, Ogun. To exorcise her, Logan had to almost fatally wound her. In exchange for the medical treatment needed to save her life, he made her agree to divorce him.

They encountered each other off and on a few times in the subsequent decades, but never anything more significant than in cursory. If he was being honest, he would have been better off just ignoring her. The woman was trouble, even before she got involved with Hydra.

But, then again, if there was one thing Logan loved more than beer, it was trouble.

He found Viper in a room several twists and turns away from main living room where everyone else was situated. Her back was turned toward him, but she already knew he was there.

"Give us a moment, Wolfgang," she requested.

Strucker raised an eyebrow, then turned, only to be surprised by Logan's presence. "Of course."

Logan stepped to the side so the Nazi terrorist could step out. The others were surprised that Steve agreed to work with someone like him; no one more than Kitty. He could smell the animosity pouring off her like a thick musk. It didn't surprise him. The animosity or Steve bring Hydra along.

Not that he thought that Steve was weak-willed; he knew otherwise. But, Steve, just like him, knew that sometimes, a man needed to work with his most hated enemy to live. He had worked with Creed more times than he cared to admit, even after they were on a kill on sight basis.

"Long time no see, Ophelia," he said as he stepped further inside the room.

"Yes. A very long time." She turned to look him over. Her visible eye narrowed. "What do you want?"

He chuckled. "Always suspicious of everyone, ain't ya, darlin'?"

Her eyes narrowed a touched more.

"Ya ain't here to save the world, we both know that. And you don't give a shit about those inhumans, outside of usin' them as your own personal army. So, what are you doing here?"

Her head tilted to the side as a smile crept across her lips. "You know me so well, don't you, James?"

He smirked. "Better than ya know yourself."

"Then, you already know I won't answer that." She walked toward him, slowly and deliberately. "I have my secrets, just as you do. Though, I will admit that seeing Wolfgang's face when he saw Magneto for the first time in seventy years to by quite amusing. Who would have thought, a little boy separated from his mother would become such a powerful force. I can learn much from someone like him."

Logan eyed her suspiciously, and sniffed the air twice.

Evidently, she was waiting on a response. When she didn't get one, her smile grew to a grin. Her teeth shone with her venomous saliva. "Unless your nose can read minds, that's all you're getting out of me, James. Now then," she stopped once she was within two feet of him, "unless you're here to walk down memory lane, I'd like to be alone."

He snorted. "Last thing I want is to remember you."

"Too bad. Not even Weapon X could erase me from your memory. It's too bad. You and I could have ruled the world. With my connections and yours, there was nothing that could have stopped us."

He snorted again. "You're full of shit."

"Perhaps so. But, at least I do not pretend to be something I am not. I must admit, when I first laid eyes on you in 1924, I did not expect to witness you saving the world. Such a shame for such a feral beast to be neutered and leashed. With me, yours could have been the most feared name in history. Instead, you are synonymous with wasted potential."

He had been around long enough to know what she was trying to do. Make him question himself, or perhaps even lash out. The latter, he didn't suspect that was his game. But the former, definitely, to get him to thinking about how his life would have been if they had remained married.

Charles warned him that his past enemies may have tried that trick, so Logan was ready. "Nice try, darlin'. You want a feral beast, there's one down the hall."

She frowned for a brief moment, then returned to neutral. "Very good. I see the Professor taught you well. The old you would have tried to kill me."

"Tried?"

"Oh, yes. Tried. If you were capable of killing me, you would have done so a long time ago. After all, I used you for personal gain; which, I believe, if a grievous offense in Japan. Once your oath of loyalty was up, you would have been well within your rights to seek revenge. Yet, you didn't." She took another step, cutting the distance between them in half. "And I have always wondered why."

"I had better things to do than worry about some lunatic."

"Hmph. We both know the truth. And perhaps, one day, you will come to accept it. And perhaps, that will be the day we will be more than a payment of debt." She closed the gap between and kissed him.

He pulled away immediately. "In yer dreams, woman."

She smirked and backed away. "You of all people should know that even the impossible can come to pass."

He wiped her green lipstick from his lips. On a coincidence, he sniffed the residue, and detected the faint traces of arsenic. He snorted. "Today ain't that day, lady," he said as he walked out.

"So it would seem, James. So it would seem."

He knew going in that he wasn't going to get much out of Viper the direct way. She was too good. So good that she didn't even let something slip by mistake, like he was hoping. In the end, all he got out of it was arsenic on his gloves.

That wasn't the first time, and it probably wasn't going to be the last.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Super sorry for the lengthy absence guys. Had a bought of writer's block that I had to fight through. But, I'm back now._


	35. The Aura of Everyman

_**The Aura of Everyman**_

 **The North Pole**

Just as Coulson's map showed, the alien vessel was hovering a few hundred miles above the north pole. It was cloaked to the naked eye, but not infrared. When she switched, she saw the heat emanating off the ship, as well as multiple warm signatures within. There were people on board, but she wasn't sure whether they were inhuman or alien. There was only one way to find out, but she certainly didn't want to sneak on board without letting someone know what she was planning on doing.

"Spectrum to base. I found the ship; and I see... eleven warm bodies inside. Don't know if they're the kidnapped inhumans or not."

It was Coulson who responded. _=Figured as much. Any way to determine what it can do from the outside?=_

She quickly, but quietly moved around the ship, taking in as much of its outer hull as she could before having to back way out of fear of being detected. "Not that I can tell. Don't see any weapons or anything like that." But, with these alien ships being as advanced as they were, she had no idea what was a weapon and what wasn't. "I'm going to have to infiltrate and check things out."

= _Just so we're clear, I'm not asking you to do that.=_

"I'm aware, Phil."

= _Just covering my bases. If you get experimented on, don't come bitching at me about it. Good luck.=_

She smiled to herself. "Thanks for the encouragement. I'll call in if I find something."

She phased through the hull as easily as a ray of light penetrated a clear glass window. The interior of the Kree ship was as alien as everything else about the Kree. The walls, floor and ceiling were constructed from pitch black metal, contrasting sharply with the sleek silver exterior. The corridors were illuminated by a series of eerie red lights emanating from concave pits in the ceiling. There was little room to maneuver; at best, there was enough room for a double-file line of captives.

 _Maybe I should have just left well enough alone._ Monica floated slowly and cautiously through the ship, an unseen humanoid blob of infrared radiation. The last thing she wanted was to fight in this cramped ship, even if she sure she was in no actual danger from anyone they had on the ship. _Alright. What the hell am I looking for here?_

It was quiet. Too quiet. Far too quiet for there to be eleven other people on board. Especially if those people were captives. When she scanned the ship earlier, she noticed that the occupants were moving around, so whoever they were, they weren't unconscious. And the more she searched throughout the ship, the more she came to realize that there wasn't anywhere for them to even store prisoners. If there were even a few hundred inhumans on the planet – and she was very sure that there were many, many more than that – they were going to need a much larger ship than this to house them. So, the question became who were the people on board?

"E niaprjozitlvo senchiak iaprdepr edzhiadlshodl izhchtisadlbretchez detsqiash."

Monica froze, despite her being invisible. The garbled, almost mechanical voice clearly belonged to a woman from somewhere further down the hall. Cautiously, she headed in that direction. Her heart rate doubled the closer she got. Through an opening, she saw a blue, bald-headed woman speaking to two other blue people. Despite the same skin color, she could easily tell they weren't Kree. The woman was dressed in a sleeveless purple catsuit; she also had a cybernetic left arm. That, funnily, was now four people she had encountered that had a cybernetic arm. _Must be some kind of fashion trend._

The cyborg woman seemed irritated, that much was obvious.

"Dezh, zhdietbo qenzhzdiatldinsh zhdo tezeflkaflflonzhplidl iablei nedlanch," one of the two male aliens responded.

She growled angrily and smashed her fist through the armrest of the chair she was sitting in. "Al injsta azheanj vabr iat plialiaianz i zhialnazhzdizzafke eveia tsienshpiafrzdinzhtlecheflzda... zhdanch drienshqlinj chaqrenz. Qlinzhvej ladshisheql." One of the aliens quickly strode through a door, possibly leading to the ship's cockpit.

Trying to follow the conversation was like trying to decipher two dogs barking at each other. The alternating rapid clicks and guttural bellows were making her head hurt. One thing was certain, she was angry about something. About what, though, was anyone's guess.

Moments later, the ship began to shake as it was brought to life and prepped for takeoff.

 _Crap. That's my cue._ Common sense was screaming for her to head back to the Sanctum Sanctorum. She didn't have any idea what the aliens were there on Earth for, nor did she know if they were even hostile. For all she knew, they could have been getting ready to fight Ronan.

Despite all of that, however, her curiosity wouldn't let her go. _Something_ was tripping off her intuition. Her gut was telling her to tail the ship and find out where it was headed. Nine times out of ten, her gut was right on. _Okay, gut. Don't fail me now._ She phased out through the hull and prepared to follow when it took off.

* * *

 **Sanctum Sanctorum**

 _=Spectrum to base. The ship's about to head out. I'm going to follow it and see where it's going.=_

Steve frowned heavily. He only wanted her to scout the ship out, not follow it. His first instinct was to call her back. They needed her desperately for the upcoming battle with Ronan and the remaining Kree. She was one of their heaviest hitters, and he couldn't afford to lose her on a wile goose chase.

On the other hand, if there was a chance that those aliens aboard that ship were up to no good, there were few people he trust to take care of them more than Monica.

In the end, he went with his second instinct, even if precedent stated that he should have done otherwise. "Fine. Report back with anything you find. If they get hostile... use your better judgment."

 _=Understood. Spectrum out.=_

He knew that Monica could more than handle herself normally, but he just didn't know when it came to these aliens. They had technology at their disposal that outclassed all but the most sophisticated on Earth. While he knew that finding out where they were headed and what their intentions were was important, he didn't want to risk one of his biggest guns.

But, it was out of his hands. The only thing he could do was hope she knew when to retreat.

As for the rest of them, there was no more time to waste. They couldn't afford to sit around and wait for Monica to report back in. Dozens of inhumans were depending on them to stop Ronan and completely repel the Kree invasion. Not to mention the ten inhumans that were taken from Wakanda needed to be saved. In all the commotion and chaos in the last several hours, that had gotten lost in the shuffle.

The problem was that they had no idea where they were, or if they were even still on the planet and hadn't been whisked away to another world while the invasion was going on.

They could deal with that when it came up, preferably after Ronan and the rest of the Kree had been dealt with.

"We've wasted enough time. Whoever is going to the inhuman settlement, get ready. Everyone else, wait for Spectrum to report in. She may need help with whoever she's following."

The Avengers immediately starting getting their gear together. For those like Natasha and Clint – who depended on conventional weaponry to keep up – their normal gear was no good. Meaning that they had to, reluctantly, choose the weapons Hydra created. It felt dirty against their skin, like they had been dipped in a deep puddle of murky, muddy water before being handed to them.

Clint especially felt the bile rushing up his throat and threatening to explode out of his mouth. "This is unbelievable."

"Are those from the Apprehension Division?" Coulson asked. From how he asked, he already knew that they were.

"Apprehension?"

"Back when SHIELD was Hydra and Hydra was SHIELD, their puppet director had all the tech confiscated from Latveria reverse engineered and made into weapons they gave to their gifted human apprehension division," he responded.

"Oh yeah. Now I remember hearing about that." It didn't make him feel any better, though. "And this shit is strong enough to kill a Kree?"

"I'd assume," he answered with a shrug.

"They aren't all that tough, anyway," Natasha said. After all, she had managed to take down several by herself.

"Stock up on as many weapons as you can carry," Steve said. "We're going to need as much firepower for Ronan as we can muster."

"Hopefully, you'll save some for us, Rogers." Zemo and his followers walked inside. With the eye of a master marksman, he examined a heavy assault rifle after picking it up out of the crate the Hydra weapons were stored in. It must have been to his liking, as he strapped it over his shoulder, then picked up another one just like it, as well as some extra magazines. "After all, this is, if I recall, what you sacrificed your integrity for."

Steve's fist balled tightly, but he maintained his composure. It was clear that all Zemo was trying to do was get a rise out of him. "I just assumed that your stellar team of legendary villains wouldn't have any need for them. After all, you did, if I recall, manage to defeat us way back when."

If Zemo was irritated by the comment, he didn't let it show. Instead, he merely chuckled. "Very good, Rogers. You are indeed correct. However, better safe than sorry, I believe you Americans say."

"Your stooges are pretty quiet, Zemo," Jubilee noted with notable disgust. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongues?"

"You assume we speak to lesser lifeforms, creature," Gene replied dismissively. "We don't."

"Watch it, pretty boy," Logan said dangerous while popping a set of his claws. "Those rings won't save you from these."

Gene smirked haughtily, then stepped up to the diminutive mutant challengingly. "Is that so, little man? Care to test that hypothesis out, or is your leash too short?"

Karla stepped up next to Mandarin, looming over Logan dangerously. "Don't think we didn't see that little stunt you pulled in DC a few days ago," she said with a sneer. "I can't imagine how incensed your _fearless leader_ was. Certainly enough to neuter a disgusting creature like you."

" _Enough."_ An invisible force very forcibly pushed the two Masters away from Logan, all the way until they were pressed against the far wall behind them. Even with her vast strength, Karla couldn't even move a muscle, much less think of breaking free. "We had every right to kill you the very moment you stepped foot in this house," Jean uttered, voice trembling from the blistering anger she was barely holding back. "The _only_ reason you are still alive is because we recognize that we need you alive more than we want you dead." **(** _ **But, understand this. Step out of line once, and you're dead. I'll shatter your minds into a thousand pieces and make you relive the worst pain you've ever felt for the rest of your godforsaken existence.)**_

The painfully intrusive telepathic message was projected into the minds of each Master of Evil. The villains winced before succumbing to the unease that naturally followed such a harrowing threat from a woman of Jean's caliber. They all knew what power lay dormant under her passive visage. They knew the fiery maelstrom that was barely contained by a series of psychic walls set up by Professor Xavier.

None of them dared to even consider testing her.

Whereas Zemo chuckled at Steve's snide comment, he swallowed nervously this time. "Of course, Frau."

Seemingly satisfied that her point was made clearly enough, she released Gene and Karla. "That's Artzin to you."

Steve sighed heavily. He was sure that Zemo's being shaken all of a sudden wasn't just because Jean reassured him that he should have been very much dead at that moment. Whatever she did to them further, he hoped that it was enough to keep them in check until Ronan was dealt with.

"Everyone who's going to the inhuman compound, move out. Everyone else, stay on alert."

In the end, the Avengers, the Masters of Evil, and only Jean, Storm, Rogue, Logan, and Cyclops of the X-Men were going to confront Ronan and save the inhumans. No one could blame those that opted to stay. The risk was far too great to chance it.

Brand walked out to give the heroes the cases of anti-Kree toxin before they left. Coulson stayed behind momentarily. There was one last piece of business he needed to conclude before heading back to SHIELD HQ. He slipped out into the hallway. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out what looked like a credit card. That card was actually a black light filter that illuminated every set of footprints the floor had been branded with. He swiped his thumb to the right until the only set illuminated was a pair of woman's high heeled boots.

He hoped they led him to Madame Hydra and not Mystique. That wasn't a conversation he wanted to have anytime soon.

Sure enough, he was led right to his intended audience. "You're a hard woman to get a hold of," he said casually to announce his presence.

If she was surprised by his sudden appearance – and he knew she wasn't – she didn't show it. "Director Coulson, we meet again," she greet with a false cordiality that raised his hackles. Well, that and the chilling smile she flashed him.

The room she was in was empty, devoid of even the most basic of décor outside of single lounge chair and a table with various pieces of equipment on top of it. Hers, without a doubt. More notable, she was alone. "I'll admit, our last meeting was a tad rushed. Then again, domesticating your stooge Trent was more important that chatting with me. By the way, where'd find him at? Surely there were more competent lackeys in your Rolodex."

"Good help is so hard to find these days," she seemed to agree. "You would know. It seems I took all of _your_ good minions."

"By that, I assume you mean Ward." He sighed wearily. Over the last year, Ward had proven to be quite the thorn in his side. It was evident that while he had separated from her at some point after killing 'Sharon Carter', he was still taking orders from Viper. Those orders were to recruit new Hydra agents. For every one they arrested, Ward brought in five more.

It was as annoying as it was distressing.

"You assume correctly. Ambitious, that one. I have little doubt he will do exactly what I enabled him to do."

"Rebuild Hydra. From the ground up." Coulson crossed his arms over his chest. He couldn't help but chuckle a little. "You just can't give it up, can you?"

"Hydra will never die. You know that better than most. How many times have you come close to killing us for good, only to watch us rise from the ashes? This is no different. Though, I must admit to a certain amount of admiration of the resurrection of SHIELD. I would have thought for sure that you were dead in the water after our coming out party, yet, here you are."

He noticed that, for a brief moment, her smile faltered. "You certainly didn't make it easy."

"Nor should we have. We are eternal rivals, after all. Two sides of the same coin—"

"—that is no longer currency." SHIELD and Hydra had both become obsolete. With entities like the Avengers and the Masters of Evil, the two stalwarts of the age of spycraft that gripped the world decades ago were mere shadows of what they once were. They were both skeletons barely holding on to the fringes of their opposing ideals.

He knew why she mentioned it. Without Hydra, there would have been no SHIELD. Without SHIELD, there would have been no Hydra. They were stuck with each other. A pair of conjoined twins sharing the same internal organs and much of the same body, so splitting them safely was not an option. If one lived, the other lived also. To kill one, one had to kill the other along with it. It was a reality that Coulson was very aware of.

"It seems that we're destined to do this forever," he concluded.

"Yes. Which makes your intentions very counterproductive."

He tilted his head, but didn't respond.

She smiled knowingly. "Yes, I am well aware of why you're here. Why wasted this prime opportunity to capture another Hydra head?"

"It's worth a shot." He smiled and stepped further into the room, and then slight to his left so the doorway was always within his peripheral vision. "I have no doubt that you would do the same, if our positions were reversed."

"Capture, no. That is where you and I differ, Coulson."

"Oh?"

"Nick Fury and I are mirror opposites. He is just a ruthless and paranoid as I am. _You,_ on the other hand, are not. You would capture where he would kill. If he were in your shoes, I would be dead right now. Especially after escaping his clutches so many times before." She shrugged listlessly. "Who is to say I would not escape you the same way?"

She was right about that. He wasn't as a ruthless cutthroat like Fury. He was much more compassionate and empathetic. It had served him quite well in his first year as SHIELD director. "Don't mistake my ruth for weakness, Ophelia. It'll lead you straight to a prison cell." He raised his right hand, pointer finger and thumb extended toward her.

She raised an eyebrow, then laughed. "What is this?"

"You're under arrest, for a plethora of terrorist acts around the globe, but most notably for the murder of one-hundred-and-twenty-seven superheroes."

She continued to laugh as she stood from her seat. Even with the distance between them, her presence was unnerving. He knew well that she could and would tear him limb from limb with ease. "Oh really? And you plan on stopping me with your finger?"

"Oh this? This is a distraction." His eyes suddenly shifted and focused on something behind her.

Her eyes widened and she whirled around to confront whatever it was. There was, of course, nothing there but a wall.

"Heh. Made you look." His pointer finger flipped open to reveal a gun barrel. He moved his thumb down rapidly three times, firing three shots of a dendrotoxin based tranquilizer. The dosage in the shots was fatal twenty times over to ordinary humans, but more than enough to knock Viper out cold, and keep her out for a while. "Ah, I love this thing."

The finger of his cybernetic hand closed, and he hoisted the unconscious terrorist up onto his shoulder and headed out. As he passed by the sitting room with the heroes, he stopped. "Good luck, guys. Give Dr. Strange my regards." He left to a bevy of looks ranging from shocked to confused.

Every spy had a secret weapon that he or she could exploit to his or her advantage. His was a boring, unassuming visage. He had an everyman aura about him that led to his adversaries underestimating him. That was what allowed him to capture the much more powerful Viper without a fight, which surely would have led to his death.

Of course, his secret weapon could have only been used once. After that, the element of everyman was lost. Fortunately, and hopefully,once was all he would need in this case.

He walked out of the Sanctum Sanctorum and toward the SUV where May and Brand were waiting. Baron Strucker was face down on the pavement, unconscious. Coulson raised an eyebrow as he dumped his cargo down beside him.

"Caught this bastard trying to sneak away," Brand explained.

It was then that Coulson noticed that there was a fist-shaped burn mark on the side of Strucker's face. That only raised his eyebrow further. "How did that—?"

"That's classified."

"I see." He glanced at May, who only shrugged.

"How'd you taken down Viper?" Brand had the nerve to ask.

He smiled. "That's classified."

Her moue returned full force.


	36. Time is of the Essence

_**Time is of the Essence**_

 **Thirty Minutes Later**

The alien ship spotted in the upper atmosphere thirty minutes ago sliced through the air at speeds exceeding anything a man-made aircraft was capable of reaching. Monica had no trouble keeping up, though. Her main concern was staying off its radar. She was invisible to the visible spectrum, but there was no telling what kind of sensor technology the ship and its crew had at its disposal.

She stayed in the clouds below the ship. The fluffy white masses of tiny water droplets didn't hinder her view of the ship, so she was able to stay even more hidden in her pursuit.

Inside the ship, the crew was oblivious to Monica's presence. Even if they did know she was tailing them, they had much more important matters to worry about. Even though they arrived on Earth along with Ronan and the Kree, they weren't of the same race. Every member of the crew was a Luphomoid, a blue skinned alien race hailing from the Andromeda galaxy. They were sent to Earth for one reason, an infinity gem.

Thanos had gotten word that an infinity gem, besides the mind gem lost by Loki, was somewhere on the planet, and he wanted it before anyone else could get their hands on it. He sent Ronan for the mind gem – though, that quest had taken a back seat to Ronan's own personal mission – and he sent the Luphomoid's after the other gem.

Leading the Luphomoids was Thanos' own personal assassin and adopted daughter, the cyborg Nebula. Bred from birth to be a ruthless killing machine alongside her adoptive sister, Gamora, Nebula was the best choice to bring Thanos the infinity gem.

Even if she was his daughter, she dared not dream of what would happen if she came to him empty-handed, as Loki had. She was there when Thanos threatened Ronan with certain death if he failed again. There was no doubt in her mind that he could and would carry it out.

"Approaching the area where the gem was last seen, Nebula," one of the crewmen reported.

She nodded. "Prepare to land."

Five more minutes passed before Monica noticed the ship was beginning to descend. She started to report in to the others, but decided against it. First, she wanted to see exactly where the ship and the aliens were headed before deciding whether to call the others in or not. Despite what Coulson said, she didn't want to put the others in any unnecessary battles. They had enough on their plates as it was.

The ship descended quickly, piercing the veil of greyish-black storm clouds and landing in a clearing just at the opening of a vast forest. From the looks of it from her higher vantage point, it appeared that they were somewhere in Eastern Europe, if the architecture was anything to go by. There was a haggard looking village a few miles on the other side of the forest and the river near it.

The aliens wasted no time in filing out and heading into the forest.

 _Crap, I'm going to lose them._ Monica knew that she had to keep a low altitude in order to keep track of them, but also knew that doing so risked her getting caught.

She opted to risk it. The aliens were too suspicious to play it careful. Switching to infrared, which was invisible to the naked eye – she hoped the same applied to these guys – she slowly lowered herself until she was almost touching the dead, pale green grass.

Nebula said something in her native tongue. The others nodded and fanned out, entering the forest at different points. She herself went in straight ahead.

It appeared that she was the leader, so Monica followed her. Nebula moved cautiously and quietly, but quickly; she was guarded in her movements. It reminded her of Natasha; she was always cognizant of her surroundings. In her hands were a pair of what looked night slightly bent nightsticks.

After fifteen minutes of seemingly aimless searching, Nebula suddenly stopped and touched her ear. A moment later, she spoke in her native tongue, then bolted to her left. With ease, Monica was able to follow her, but kept a short distance in case she was walking into a trap.

It wasn't a trap. Rather, it was a rundown mausoleum guarded by a pair of Doombots. _Doombots?! We're in Latveria? Of course. That means that village up ahead is Doomstadt._

Whatever they were looking, Monica suddenly knew that it was trouble. Everything Doom had in in country was trouble. Even if he hadn't been seen in years.

With fluid speed that took the robots by surprised, Nebula jabbed them both with her nightsticks. Electricity jumped from the sticks into the Doombots, short-circuiting them until they collapsed in a heap. She kicked the stone slab covering the opening, reducing it to a cloud of dust and rubble. They slowly filed inside, Nebula taking point.

One of her subordinates detected that the gem was inside a mausoleum that was in the middle of a dead forest. There were several tombs inside, a few of which were broken into pieces. The ones that weren't were covered in a thick film dust. "Start looking. Search every crack. We don't leave until we find the infinity gem."

It was dark; the only light was whatever sunlight was filtering in through the treetops. While the others had to strain their eyes to make sure they searched as thoroughly as necessary, Nebula had no such trouble. She possessed a mechanical left eye, which allowed her to see in even pitch black darkness.

Every tomb they cracked open and sifted through thoroughly were filled with nothing but old, tattered clothes, worthless jewelry, and bones. No infinity gem. Assuming that whoever placed the gem inside the mausoleum knew of its power, they would have been much more careful in hiding it. She ordered her subordinates to search under the tombs.

As they destroyed the sacred burial places, she slowly walked around the perimeter of the room. The humans were much more intelligent than she wanted to give them credit for. How quickly they managed to thwart the Kree invasion was evidence of such. If they knew how powerful the time gem was, or even assumed that it was more valuable than anything they had ever encountered, they would do more than simply hide it under a tomb. No, that would have been too obvious.

Whoever hid the gem would have known that if someone was searching for it, they would search every inch until they found it. They would have to hidden it in a place where no one would think to look.

All the tombs were overturned. Nothing, as she suspected. Instead of getting frustrated, she continued to scan the perimeter. Her cyborg eye was much more keen than her biological one. It quickly picked up on several cracks; however they weren't anything more than cracks.

The massive cross that was stationed in front of the fore wall, however, was hollow. With no hesitation or consideration for the symbol's religious significance, Nebula broke it open. A bright orange light filled the tomb.

Nebula laughed. "These humans think they're clever." She was handed an elongated tube, which she used to pluck the infinity gem from its resting place without subjecting herself to its uncanny power. She pulled it out with a small tug. The light emanating from its core was blinding. She quickly sealed it away. "Let's get out of here. Leave Ronan to his vendetta. Our work here is done."

A blinding orange light erupted from the mausoleum. Whatever the aliens were looking for, they had found it. Whatever they found, it wasn't good. A sinking feeling settled in her chest. _Could it be?_ If it was an infinity gem, there was no way in hell she was letting them leave the forest, much less take it back to Thanos.

The aliens filed out one by one, Nebula again at the fore. Monica immediately noticed that she had an elongated tube in her hand, one that she didn't have when she went in.

Monica shifted into her human form and fired a beam of light to knock the tube out of her hand. It landed somewhere out of sight.

"What the—?!" Nebula snarled and narrowed her eyes at Monica. "A human!" she hissed. "Kill her!" The crew, ten in total, charged Monica brandishing wicked looking energy swords and large rifles.

Even though she was outnumbered ten-to-one, Monica remained unconcerned with the aliens moving her way. That was mainly because they were moving at a snail's pace. Even in her human form, she was still vastly faster than them.

The first reached her and swung his sword at her head. She ducked under him and blasted him in the chest, sending him flying into a pair of oncoming assailants. Two more tried to attack her from behind, but she moved out of the way with plenty of time to think about how she was going to take care of them. By the time she gave it plenty of thought and decided, they had moved maybe a few inches. A pair of blasts rendered them unconscious, followed by three more for the three moving in from her left.

Six down in a matter of seconds. She couldn't believe that she actually considered calling in the others for backup. _Don't want to waste too much time on these losers._ For the four remaining, a wide angle beam engulfed them and left them laying in a wide crater.

"Now, then," she started.

Nebula, slack-jawed from watching her team of elite Luphomoid warriors be dispatched in seconds by a human, growled and pulled out both of her tasers. "Damn you, human! DIE!" She roared and lunged at Monica, tasers first.

Monica casually sidestepped her.

Nebula rolled to her feet and launched a furious volley. She was one of the most feared assassins in the universe. Whenever she attacked someone intending to kill, that person died in moments. This wasn't going to be one of those times.

No matter how she attacked, from what angle, or how fast, Nebula couldn't lay a finger on her. Monica dipped, ducked, and dodged out of the way easily enough, but slowly enough to make Nebula think that she was going to tag her, only to move out of the way at the last moment.

"Be still!" She roared and slammed her sticks into the ground, sending a wave of electricity coursing through the dirt toward Monica.

She couldn't dive back to avoid it, so she jumped up. Which was exactly what Nebula wanted her to do.

She fired off a roundhouse kick at the exact moment Monica jumped up, so that she wouldn't be able to dodge again. She was right; Monica appeared to be unable to dodge.

The kick passed right through her.

"Huh?!"

"Science lesson, chrome-dome. The electromagnetic spectrum is intangible, and so am I. Name's Monica." She remained floating in midair, even as Nebula futilely continued her assault. "Or Spectrum, if you're nasty." She blasted her once, hitting her in the chest and leaving her laying in a small crater.

"Well, then. Oh!" She had nearly forgotten the very reason she attacked them in the first place. She flew over to where she saw the tube land. "Aha." She found it lying in the grass, partially submerged in a small puddle of water. Picking it up, she opened it, only to find that it was empty. "What the hell?"

She knew for a fact that she witnessed a bright orange flash of light illuminate the entire mausoleum, which meant that the aliens had found something. Unless they had it hidden on one of them. "Maybe they didn't find anything." She shrugged and called in Coulson to have him pick up the extraterrestrial treasure hunters.

In the meantime, she decided to search each of the aliens to make sure they didn't have anything of interest on them. The grunts had nothing on them. Nebula, on the other hand, had a few things. While curiosity begged her to play with them for a bit and maybe even ascertain what they were, her better judgment knew that messing around with alien technology was a bad idea.

Before long, a pair of quinjets landed a few feet away, along with a larger vessel. Instead of the eagle insignia belonging to SHIELD, the three air-crafts were branded by a bold black circle pierced by a black sword. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "SWORD?"

The lead agent that exited first nodded. "Agent Paulletz. Are the extraterrestrials incapacitated?"

She gave one of them a kick to make sure. He didn't move. "I'd say so."

"Alright, then. We'll take it from here."

"Well, they had some loot on them. Guess I should leave it with you." She handed him the three small devices she found on Nebula. "Be careful with that stuff. Who knows what they can do."

"I know. This isn't our first rodeo." With that, he nodded and turned away to oversee the cleanup.

 _Not even a thank you. Jerk._ With a shake of her head, Monica streaked into the sky. As she passed over the forest, she noticed that there was another SWORD crew securing the aliens' ship. With nothing more for her to do, she headed back for the Sanctorum. "Spectrum to base, all clear. I thought the aliens found something at some gravesight, but I guess not. SWORD is here now taking them in, so I'm heading back."

It was Sam who answered. _=Roger that, Monica. Cap and a lot of the others already left for the inhuman settlement. There aren't many of us left here.=_

She didn't think to commit those coordinates to memory, so she didn't know where they were, outside of somewhere in the Himalayas. She did, however, remember the location of the other alien ship. "Hey, there's another ship that needs to be checked out. I'll bet pennyI have that that's where the captured inhumans are."

 _=We got a spare quinjet. We'll meet you there.=_

"Roger that." On a dime, Monica changed direction and streaked toward the second alien ship.


	37. Ready for War

_**Ready for War**_

 **The Raft**

Coulson and May walked into the Raft, Strucker and a still tranquilized Viper in tow. The on-duty agents stopped what they were doing and saluted the director. "Director Coulson. We have two cells prepared, just as you ordered."

"Good to hear."

The Raft was one of the few SHIELD facilities that remained standing after Ultron's attack last year. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, Coulson ordered that the building be given a complete overhaul. With Tony's help, it was much better equipped to handle superhuman occupants. Viper, even if she was stronger than anyone at SHIELD, was pretty low as far as superhuman threats went.

A pair of agents, clad in the old Apprehension body armor and armed with powerful ICER rifles, grabbed hold of Baron Strucker and took him to get processed. Another pair took Viper and left to do the same.

The Raft's warden walked out to meet Coulson and May. John Walker, former Captain America and leader of the anti-registration forces that were almost completely wiped out by Hydra's massive attack,. He himself was very nearly killed himself, but he had been standing next to Iron Patriot when his armor detected the incoming attack. Osborn managed to erect his shield in a nick of time.

A nick of time for them both to watch both sides slaughtered in a deluge of white hot high caliber ordinance.

Walker never forgot that day. He still had nightmares. His psychiatrist diagnosed him with PTSD.

Coulson, when he was officially recognized by the UN as SHIELD director, appointed him warden of the Raft. John was forever grateful for a chance to continue to serve.

"Director Coulson, I promise we'll make sure Viper _stays_ behind bars this time," he said with a wry smile.

Coulson chuckled and shook his hand. "We can only hope. If we're lucky, I'll have a few more prisoners for you."

"Think we got the room to accommodate them."

With no more business to conduct there, they took their leave. On their way back to the quinjet, May asked, "What now?"

"We return to base," he answered. "Whoever was left at Strange's left to check out that other ship. I have a feeling that's where the prisoners are."

"Rambeau said Doom was up to something in Latveria. Those aliens she was tailing found _something_ in his family gravesite, but whatever it was disappeared when she was taking them out."

"When _wasn't_ Doom up to something? We'll keep an eye on Latveria and whoever their leader is." Coulson read the reports. He knew that Lucia von Bardas had been assassinated during that STRIKE operation in Latveria two years ago. But, he didn't know who the current leader was. He had been there twice, and both times had been greeted by a von Bardas LMD with no clues as to who the true ruler was.

It wasn't Doom, that much was certain. If it was, they would have heard from him by now. "I'll tell Rambeau not to get too bent out of shape about it," he continued. "She has other, more important things to worry about."

* * *

 **The Himalayan Mountains**

One of those other, more important things Monica, and the rest of the heroes, had to worry about was within radar range of the pair of quinjets and the X-Jet. The Kree vessel was still cloaked, but according to Jean, they were there. She could feel the alien minds, foreign and mysterious.

"Okay, team, Jean just confirmed that the Kree are here. I want Shadowcat, Vision, and Moonstone to take care of any of those sentries. Take them out fast, because we'll need Vision and Moonstone to help the flyers handle the ships. Ant-Man, I want you to take a team with you aboard the warship and do what you did the last time."

"Gotcha. Though, I'm pretty sure I can handle that by myself."

"Pretty sure isn't good enough, Scott. Take back up."

He sighed, but nodded. Then, he took a moment to silently appraise the available heroes and determined who he wanted to take with him. "Jan, Natasha, and Bucky should do."

"Alright. As for the rest of us, we'll take care of the ground forces. They don't breech the inhuman sanctuary under any circumstances, understood?" He saw nothing but nodding heads. "Good. You guys got that?"

 _=Understood, Captain,=_ Cyclops replied.

 _=Ja, your elementary orders are noted, Rogers,=_ Zemo answered.

He shook his head.

"What about Ronan?" Bucky asked.

They all knew that none of them stood even a ghost of a chance against him one-on-one, or even all at once. He was more powerful than any of them. Still, if he decided to assault the sanctuary with the rest of his troops, they had to try something. "I want all of our heavy hitters concentrating on him if he shows up. Thor, Carol, Jen, Moonstone, Jean, Mandarin... Bruce."

T'Challa managed to send a wakandan quinjet to Malibu in time for Bruce to arrive just before the teams left the Sanctorum. To him, it was a no-brainer. His team needed the Hulk's specific skillset, even if there was a chance that he was going to be overwhelmed. Still, that wasn't going to stop him from giving it his all. "Code Green, then," the scientist stated with a small, but nervous, smile.

Steve nodded. "This isn't going to be easy."

"Is it ever?" Natasha uttered.

"This is going to be harder than anything else we've had to overcome," he amended. "Ronan has an infinity gem. That's a big advantage in their favor. Nothing we have comes close."

Vision cleared his throat. _"I will not take offense to that, Captain."_

To that, Steve smiled sheepishly. He had completely forgotten that Vision had an infinity gem of his own. "Sorry, Vision." That realization changed everything. He didn't know if the gems were equal in power, with the only difference being the user's experience level. According to Thor, it sounded like Ronan had only had his for a short while, while Vision had his for a year. While he was still unraveling the secrets of the gem, he had grown quite powerful during his training.

He could have very well been the tipping point in their battle. Even still, Steve refused to change his stance. This _was_ going to be the most difficult battle they had ever taken part in. But, it was a battle that they had to win, or the human race was going to be wiped out.

"Any word from Monica?"

"Not yet," Rhodey answered. "Sam said it sounded like she was going to hang out in Latveria until SWORD showed up to take those aliens in."

"Aliens? Not Kree?"

He shook his head.

"Fantastic. More aliens," Tony muttered.

Steve huffed and placed his helmet on the seat beside him. "Let me know if and when she calls in. We need her for this." With that, he headed to the cockpit. Clint was busy outfitting his arrows with the toxin Coulson gave them, so his usual seat was empty. Steve sat down. "Are you okay with the strategy?"

Carol nodded silently.

"Look, I know I'm asking a lot from you, working with Rogue. If you don't feel comfortable—"

"You're doing it again," she said, cutting him off before he could finish.

"It?"

"Coddling me. Like I'm incapable of putting my feelings for Rogue aside for one battle. I know what's at stake, Steve." She sighed harshly. She started to put the jet on autopilot; her finger was right on the switch and inches away from flipping it up, but she pulled back. "It was hard... to not put my fist through her skull."

"But, you didn't."

"No, I didn't. Any other time, I would have punched her into the next state. Not now." She grew silent, eyes focused intently on the icy blue sky before them. "Interesting little thing I realized a few hours ago. Wanna hear it?"

"Sure."

"Remember when Zemo shot us?" It was a rhetorical question. How could anyone possibly forget something like that, even if it didn't happen to them? "Don't recall ever seeing the X-Men show up to help us out."

He frowned. It was something he hadn't even thought of, then or now. Now that she mentioned it, he knew she was right. "Yeah, they didn't."

"Kind of funny, since they gave us major shit about their friends dying. It's almost like that little thing slipped their minds or something." She smiled bitterly.

"Carol—"

"I'm not mad or anything. I just found that interesting."

He had heard that line before. Tony, Clint, Bruce, Thor, T'Challa, both Scotts, Peter, Bucky, Sam, Rhodey, Luke, Danny, and Pietro had, at one point or another, told him that if a woman _ever_ said that to him, he had better start apologizing right then and there. Because, if a woman said that she wasn't mad, she was _livid._

Carol had a good poker face. He hadn't beaten her once in Texas Hold 'Em. He had become pretty good at reading people, thanks to his brief partnership with Natasha when they were both still with SHIELD. He had become good at reading Carol in particular thanks to their spending so much time together. He had seen her when she was angry, and he had seen her when she was 'not mad or anything'.

The latter was much worse, and much more insidious. "That doesn't change anything. We're better than that. This tit for tat—"

"Steve, I just said—"

"I heard what you said. I don't believe you. What happened happened. Nothing can change that. We all screwed up. But, holding grudges and holding lapses in judgment over people's heads won't help long-term relations. We need the X-Men on our side; not just now, but in the future. You don't have to like it, or them, but that's how it has to be. Sometimes we have to work with people we don't like to get the job done."

She scowled at him, but it didn't last long. Her shoulders deflated and sagged. "Fine. I just..." This time, she did switch the jet over to autopilot. "I'm just so fucking tired of being the bad guy. It's like I can't breathe around Rogue without one of those twits jumping in to defend her."

He looked at her closely. She didn't appear to be close to breaking down, which was good. And this pent up anger she was trying to let loose, that was good, if she decided to take it out on the Kree. "I imagine Gen. Ross says the same about us." He smiled wryly. "That's what friends do. They look out for one another, even if it means looking over past transgressions."

The Avengers had done it countless times, in regards to Clint, Jessica, and Natasha. But, most of all, they had all done it with Bruce. They always looked past what the Hulk did and saw him for more than just a list of negative actions.

"Yeah. I guess," she mumbled as she folded her arms across her chest.

She was still holding onto what happened to her, and was letting her anger and hatred fester in her heart. Eventually, that would be all she could think about, and that was no way to live. He didn't want to see anyone walk down that path, but least of all someone he loved.

Without fearing the consequences and not caring if anyone saw, he grabbed her hand and kissed it tenderly. "It's okay to be angry. What happened to you was unthinkable. But, don't let it consume you. After long, that moment will define you, because your entire life will become centered around that. I don't want that for you, and I know you don't either."

For a long time, she just stared at him, face slightly red and eyes clouded with an emotion he hadn't seen in them often. "I—" she nearly said before she snapped her mouth closed. She took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. "Thank you. I... I'll keep that in mind."

He smiled and kissed her hand again, more quickly, but just as tenderly. He cared about Carol a lot, and only wanted the best for her. He could see the path she was trending down from a mile away. What kind of friend – platonic or romantic – would he have been if he had just sat idly by and let her run right off the cliff to self-destruction? "You're welcome."

He smiled and held her gaze for a brief moment before getting up and returning to the cabin.

From what he could tell, it didn't appear that anyone saw what happened. If they did, they knew they had more important things to worry about.

"That was some pep talk," Rhodey said quietly. More matter-of-fact based on how long he was up there, rather than him actually having heard what was said. Not that it matter either way.

"I... we need Carol to have her head in the game."

"Yeah." He glanced over the Avengers, many of whom were making their final preparations. His eyes settled on a stoic Vision before returning to Steve. "The way I see it, Vision and Jean are the only ones who can take Ronan down if we can't take the gem from him."

Vision, he already knew about and had accounted for, but Jean? "Is her telepathy really _that_ strong?

He nodded. "Had him incapacitated for a short while before he nuked half of Genosha. If we can give her some time, she can do some irreparable damage, if not outright beat him."

Steve was the first to admit that he didn't know anything about psychic powers. As far as he was concerned, it was right up there magic and time-travel on the list of things he was hopelessly confused about. But, Rhodey was there; he saw what she did first hand, so he took his word for it. "If you think so, then it's worth giving her a shot."

The radar in the cockpit beeped loudly. "Guys, we got company. Lots of it," Carol announced from the cockpit.

There was no need to ask what she was talking about. They could all see it plain as day. The final Kree warship. It was even more massive that the previous ten, at least twice as large. Meaning twice as many cannons, twice as many ships, and twice as many foot soldiers than the previous ones could muster.

Also, Ronan.

"Here we go. Work together and we'll get through this in one piece."

"The abominations' shields have been breached!"

The light red sphere that had been protecting the inhuman settlement from the Kree's invisible attack finally fell. It lasted for several hours, which succeeded in not only staying the Kree's hand, but also giving the heroes a chance to thwart the invasion and arrive just in time to witness the beginning of the invasion.

Ronan nodded and tightened his grip on his universal weapon. "Move out. Leave no stone unturned. We do not leave until every abomination in this structure is either dead or captured."

Thousands of Kree soldiers boarded personal aircraft and transportation vessels to either to begin their assault from the air or be take to the ground.

Hundreds of ships poured out of the hangar bay doors near the back of the ship. Dozens upon dozens of the Kree sentries rocketed out of the hangar doors in the midst of the ships. The cannons were fired up; they would have been ready to fire within the minute. The warship was also equipped with energy missiles, which those manning the guns wasted no time in firing. They weren't very powerful, but they were strong enough to punch holes in the sanctuary walls.

It was only a mere fraction of what arrived mere hours ago, but what was left of the Kree armada headed by Ronan the Accuser unleashed its full, unyielding might on the hapless inhumans.

The final Kree salvo had begun.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** This is it, everyone. The climax starts next chapter. Let me say thanks for sticking with me, despite the long waits between updates. I will appreciate all the support. :)_


	38. Until the End

_**Until The End**_

 **The Himalayas**

There were thousands of energy streaks flying in every direction. To someone without experience with such situations, it could have understandably been overwhelming. However, the Avengers and the X-Men had experience. For the Avengers, they harked back to the Battle of Manhattan against Loki and the Chitauri. For the X-Men, they recalled their many dealings with the Shi'ar Empire, a race of humanoid aliens evolved from birds.

Professor Xavier was the consort to Shi'ar Empress Lilandra. They received a distress call from her around a year and a half ago. Lilandra's brother, D'Ken, was threatening the universe with his abusive use of the M'Kraan Crystal, a powerful artifact rumored to house the the nexus for all matter and anti-matter in not just this universe, but every universe. It took the combined efforts of the X-Men and the Starjammers, a group of space-pirates led by Cyclops' long thought dead father, Corsair, to thwart D'Ken and save the universe.

While the Kree were a different beast entirely, it was better than going into the battle with no idea what to expect.

"Jocasta, take control of the jets. Everyone, move out! We're on the clock!"

The quinjets jostled slightly, then steadied when Jocasta took over the controls. First, everyone who could fly leaped out of the hatch when it opened. They wasted no time and immediately engaged either the alien ships currently bombarding the inhuman sanctuary or the Kree sentries, depending on what their assignment was.

Once they had all exited, the jets descended and landed in a clear patch of land to allow everyone else to exit and enter the fray.

It was absolute madness.

"Alright, you gutless motherfuckers," Logan snarled as he popped his claws, "let's dance." He roared and dove headfirst into a gaggle of Kree. Behind him were Cyclops, Iron Fist, and She-Hulk.

"Don't hold back!" Luke roared over the chaos. He tore into every Kree around him with his/Wrecker's enchanted crowbar. No matter how big they were or how strong, they were no match for its magically enhanced strength.

The Kree certainly weren't going to be pulling their punches. So close to their goal, and the one thing standing between them and the inhumans were the heroes, they were going to do all in their power to make sure the heroes posed only a temporary obstacle.

There was no sign of Ronan so far. That was good.

Thanks to their phasing ability, Shadowcat, Vision, and Moonstone were making short work of the Kree sentries. So short, that Moonstone had abandoned her assignment in favor of helping out with the ships. Steve noticed and started to reprimand her, but had to dive out of the way of a sudden sword swing that threatened to slice him in half.

He kipped up to his feet in time to block the second one. The Kree was much bigger than he was, but he wasn't that much stronger. They locked weapons, with the Kree grunting with effort. Steve shoved him back and sliced his throat open with a savage shield strike. Instead of making sure he stayed down, he moved on. The edge of his shield was coated with the anti-Kree toxin, so he was sure the Kree was going to die.

He bulldozed his way through a group of Kree foot-soldiers who were trying to surround Zemo, Cyclops, and Hawkeye. Scott finished them off with a wide angle optic blast that left them motionless in a smoking crater.

Zemo shot a pair of Kree that were dangerously close to the sanctuary in the head with a high-powered rifle armed with adamantium bullets.

"They don't get past us," Steve said resolutely. The four of them formed a buffer between the Kree and the inhumans. Any Kree that got within ten feet of the sanctuary was immediately impaled by an arrow ,or gunned or blasted down.

From that vantage point, they could see that the battle was an all-out war. Both sides had advantages that they exploited to the best of their ability. The Kree had numbers, easily outnumbering the heroes more than a hundred to one. The heroes, on the other hand, had strength. With the likes of Storm, Thor, Jean Grey, Ms. Marvel, Iron Man, and others, the Kree's numerical advantage was steadily falling by the minute.

"Lightning! Wind! Heed my cry!" Lightning danced across the pitch black sky, accompanied by hurricane force winds, and struck Kree ships with a fury that only Mother Nature could muster. Missiles and repulsor rays ripped through the alien aircrafts without remorse. Any ships that managed to escape their notice didn't escape Jean or Carol.

* * *

 **Aboard the Kree Warship**

Elsewhere, Ant-Man and his team had successfully infiltrated the ship and were quickly making their way deeper inside. It was quiet. There was little doubt that the vast majority of those that had been on the ship before were below battling the others. If they did run into trouble, at least they could count on not being outnumbered by too much. "If this ship is the same as the other one, then its main power thing should be this way," he said quietly.

Winter Soldier, Black Widow, and Wasp followed his lead, weapons and powers at the ready in case they ran into trouble. They didn't see Ronan anywhere in the battle below, which meant that he was still on the ship. That thought sent a cold chill up their spines. They were four of the weakest members, in terms of durability. One hit from his hammer and they were going to nothing more than a smear and a memory. Then again, the likes of Thor and Luke weren't going to last more than one hit from Ronan either; though, that thought did little to assuage their worries.

"Can't you just shrink it from here?" Wasp asked hurriedly. "Going in any further is too risky."

"I have to disable the power source, first," he answered. "Otherwise, they may figure out what happened and find some way to reverse it."

It was a paranoid thought, but in this case, there was no such thing as too paranoid.

A group of Kree quickly rounded the corner onto the same corridor they were sneaking down. "Intruders! Sound the alarm!"

"Shit!" Soldier gunned them down as quickly as his gun would allow, but one managed to get away and slammed his fist on a nearby alarm module before Wasp could blast him.

The lights illuminating the halls turned crimson, followed by a deafening klaxon that alerted every remaining Kree, including Ronan, of their presence.

"Shit! Let's get out of here!"

The four did an about face and sprint back the way they came. Though, halfway, Ant-Man slowed down and started to turn around. "Go on without me. I'll catch up," he yelled.

"Like hell you will!" Wasp grabbed him and shrunk down. Once he was situated on her back, she grabbed the slower Widow by her collar and lifted her up. "Sorry, but we're in a hurry." Soldier was faster than all of them and was already in the hangar bay. Gunfire in the distance revealed that he had run into trouble.

"Hold me steady," Widow ordered. She kept both of her submachine guns trained in front of her. She capped two Kree that were visible through the opening leading to the hangar, giving Wasp a safe way in.

They passed into the hangar and found Soldier outnumbered nearly twenty to one. He was hiding behind a badly damaged ship, with nearly no chance to retaliate without risking being killed.

Wasp let go of her cargo and opened fire on the Kree. A few dropped before they all realized she was there and turned their attention on her. She dipped and weaved around their return fire, but didn't bother trying to fire back. Her only objective was to give Widow and Soldier a chance.

Widow joined Soldier behind his cover and opened fire. With some of the Kree distracted by Wasp, they were able to get their shots off more easily.

The toxin SHIELD provided worked like a charm. Even shots that barely nicked their targets felled them, due to them being infected.

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

As the three others were holding off/distracting the Kree, Scott had stolen away and was placing Pym Disks throughout the ship, set with a remotely controlled detonator. Created to shrink normal sized objects to a microscopic size, he hadn't been sure how well they would work on the warship in Bangkok. Turned out they worked well enough in bulk. He hoped and prayed the same happened here.

 _=Scott, where are you?=_ Wasp's voice cut in his ear.

He winced. He really hadn't meant to sneak off like that, but this needed to get done and quickly. With them distracting the Kree, he was hoping that he could finish up unnoticed and join them shortly. "I'm almost done."

 _=Damn it, Scott! I told you to forget about it.=_

She sounded angry, as she should have been. He well knew that if he ran into Ronan, he was finished. There was no way he could even dream of a scenario in which he lasted any longer than five seconds. Even knowing that, he had to do it. Cap gave him a mission and he was going to see it through to the end; one way or another. Too many lives were depending on their victory.

He hoped she understood. Actually, he knew that she did, deep down. And he also knew why she was objecting so vehemently, and it wasn't entirely because they were friends.

He first noticed the change in her demeanor around him after Ultron had been defeated and the teams split into three. They were both on the same team, and often paired together due to the similarities in their powers. They were spending so much time together – much more than they had in the years prior to being kidnapped by Hydra – that a mutual attraction sparked between them. Despite that, he never made a move. He wished he hadn't been so skittish about asking her out. There wasn't any risk with them dating, but he figured Janet wouldn't want Cassie to get comfortable with seeing her as a stepmother.

 _Focus, Scott. Worry about Jan later_. He shook his head free of the regrets and moved on. The eastern portion of the ship was prepared, and all he had left was plant a few on the western half. He didn't need to cover every bit; nor did he need the entire ship to shrink. Just enough to render it inoperable. Which he had already done more than well enough.

With that thought in mind, he skidded to a halt and doubled back the way he came. What he had done was good enough. "On my way back."

 _=Make it fast. We're about to head out.=_

He could hear the relief in her voice, but also the anxiety. "Sorry for worrying you."

 _=Hey, don't worry about it. Just hurry up and get back.=_

"You got it." He pumped his legs as fast as he could. The sooner he was back on the jet and out of the warship, the sooner he could breathe a little easier. Being in the same vicinity as Ronan was terrible for his blood pressure. He seriously felt that the very thought of facing Ronan aged him a good decade.

"Terran scum."

His heart stopped, as did his legs. _Oh no. Nonononononono._ He whirled around to face the source of the voice.

Ronan.

"My patience has worn thin. You terrans have interfered with my affairs for the last time." He pointed his warhammer at Scott. A purple energy blast erupted from the head.

Out of pure instinct, Scott dove to the left and out of the way of the energy blast. It tore clean through the hull, though it was small enough to not cause the ship any serious damage.

He had gotten lucky, but there was no way he was going to be able to keep that up for much longer. He had to think of something, or he was going to die. _Cassie, I'm so sorry._

* * *

Janet was waiting impatiently for Ant-Man to return. They had made quick work of the Kree crewmen after finding Soldier outnumbered twenty to one. It didn't appear that they had anyone left on board; meaning that everyone else was down below. That was both a good and bad. Good in that they could catch their breathes in relative peace; bad because they were in for the fight of their lives once they joined the battle proper.

 _=Janet, you and the others get out of here. Right now!=_

Hearing his urgent tone, which he almost never adopted, made her heart skip a beat. "What happened?" There was no response, but she could hear him breathing heavily, as if running for his life. Which could have meant only one thing. "Ant-Man? Scott?!"

 _=GET OUT OF HE—=_ Ant-Man's comm died.

The harsh screech of audio static filled her ear and sent a cold chill down her spine. Her stomach dropped. Her head started to spin, but she pushed through it all and flew as fast as she could toward the only opening he could have gone down. "SCOTT!"

She was nearly halfway down the hallway when Ronan rounded the corner. To say he was incensed was the understatement of the millennium. "Oh God."

She wanted to find Scott. She _needed_ to find him. She needed to know he was okay. But, with Ronan striding toward her, the answer was staring her right in the face. "BASTARD!" Eyes full of tears that threatened to fill her goggles, she roared and unleashed an unrelenting barrage.

He didn't even flinch. "I have grown tired of your interference and my patience has worn out!"

"Janet!" Bucky tossed every flash bang he had on him, almost a dozen, at Ronan. They exploded in a flash of white luminescence.

Both Janet and Ronan were blinded and disoriented. She felt a large hand gently pluck her out of the air and carry her away. She assumed – and prayed – that it was either Soldier or Black Widow. Since she was alive this long, it probably was.

"Get us the fuck out of here, Natalia," he said once they were on the quinjet.

"Wait. We have to wait for Scott." Her words squeezed through her tightened throat and sounded warbled.

A massive blast tore through the ship, very narrowly missing the quinjet. Natasha hit the throttle, rocketing them out of the hangar and out of the ship. "He's dead, Janet," she said bluntly.

She didn't want to believe it. It couldn't have been true. "He's not... he can't be." There was no way that son of a bitch had died right after telling her he was on his way back. It wasn't possible.

It seemed that neither Natasha nor Bucky wanted to argue, as neither of them said another word to her. Either that, or they were too concerned with what was happening below them to give her denial any thought. The effects of the flash bangs began to gradually wear off. Janet opened her eyes and was greeted by a blurry world that was still very clearly entrenched in complete chaos. From what she could tell, the Kree still had strong numbers, but they were greatly diminished from where they had been before.

They had work to do. Work that could distract her from losing one of her closest friends. It was going to stop her from thinking about the terrible pain in her chest, like someone had just ripped her heart out. Scott was just her friend. Why did it hurt so much? She had lost friends before, and their deaths ate away at her, but never like this. _Scott, why? Why did you leave before I could tell you?  
_

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Two weeks._


	39. Star Child, The End Of All That Is

_****_A/N:_**** _To show my gratitude for you guys' support of the series, here's a chapter on this day of thanks. Stay tuned tomorrow for your regularly scheduled chapter. Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving :)__

* * *

 _ **Star Child, The End of All That Is**_

 _=Cap, we got big trouble,=_ Bucky announced through the comms.

Steve was too busy defending himself to consider the haste in his voice. "We got trouble everywhere, Buck."

 _=Lang's dead and Ronan is pissed off. Natalia, Janet, and me are on our way down.=_

If Scott being killed wasn't bad enough, hearing that Ronan was not only angry – that was no surprise – and probably on his way to kill all of them was even worse. So much worse. "Goddamn it. Bruce, get ready. Code Green has first crack at Ronan."

Everyone else was too busy with the Kree soldiers. This was _not_ what they needed right then!

A quinjet landed nearby and its three occupants sprinted out. Bucky immediately opened fire on the crowd of Kree that were threatening to overwhelm Steve and Logan. The latter nodded his thanks and sprinted off to cut into more aliens.

Despite how crowded the battle was, the numbers were becoming more even by the minute. Their heavy hitters were cutting down swaths of Kree. Tony, Rhodey, Vision, and Karla had formed a wall between the oncoming forces and the inhuman settlement. Most importantly, no one had managed to get by them.

So far, the inhumans remained safe.

* * *

Inside the inhuman settlement, hundreds of inhumans were waiting anxiously. Many of them had been brought in from the world over during the invasion with the promise of safety and guidance in utilizing or repressing their newfound gifts.

Many of them were newly hatched. Those that weren't watched the battle raging outside more stoically than they did.

They were the Royal Family, the ruling family of the inhuman race. The current King was Blackagar Boltagon, the most powerful inhuman in the settlement. He was cloaked in a jet black body armor that was woven from special energy harnessing fibers. On the forehead of his mask was a silver tuning fork shaped antenna, which he used to channel and focus his powers in more controlled ways.

His wife and the Queen was Medusalith Amaquelin. She was the one that Bobbi encountered in Madripoor earlier.

Crystalia Amaquelin was her younger sister. The young, strawberry blonde haired woman had the ability to control the four core elements: earth, fire, wind, and water. Her outfit consisted of a yellow body armor. The top portion, from her shoulders and the upper half of her arms down to her gloves, was black, and everything below that down to her boots was yellow. There were thick black stripes running down her sides. In the center, she wore a black, diamond shaped belt.

Blackagar Boltagon's cousin was Gorgon Petragon. He was a beast of a man, standing at 6'7 and weighing almost 500 lbs. He had the visage of a predator, with an elongated snout and enlarged, razor sharp canines. His entire body was covered in fur; his mane was tied back into a long ponytail. He wore a pair of brown armored pants that stopped at his knees. His legs were, amazingly, his most unusual feature. They were similar to that of a ram, complete with a set of hooves.

Karnak Mander-Azur was another of Blackagar's cousins. He was a slender man, only weighing 150 lbs, with pale, almost gray skin. He had swirling green tattoos on his shoulders and biceps. In addition, his unnaturally large cranium was also covered in tattoos.

Finally, Triton Mander-Azur was Karnak's brother. He was perhaps the most inhuman – for lack of a better term – in appearance, his skin was green and scaly like a reptile,with a large fin on top of his head. He also had webbed feet. He wore lightweight, sleeveless black body armor with purple on the torso and on his wrists and ankles. He also had to wear a water-circulation apparatus so he could breathe air out of water. The circulators pumped a saline chemical throughout his body, allowing him to live out of water.

The Royal Family, the House of Agon, were responsible for the safety and well-being of every inhuman on the planet, whether they recognized their authority or not. When they caught wind of the invasion, they immediately jumped into action and sent out representatives to recover as many of the newly hatched inhumans as they could. They were too late for those in Wakanda, but they managed to give almost every other one safe haven within their colony, called Attilan.

The inhuman government was a genocracy, which meant that the most genetically potent house was selected to rule. Those in the House of Agon were the most powerful inhumans, by far. And yet, Blackagar decreed that they were to remain within Attilan during the battle. While they respected his decision, some didn't like hiding.

Regardless of their feelings, they all knew that venturing outside of Attilan was exactly what the Kree wanted them to do. Capturing just one of the Royal Family – such as the king himself – would have made Ronan's inhuman army more formidable than otherwise.

And besides, things appeared to be going well for the humans. However, if the tide turned in the Kree's favor, then they would get involved.

* * *

The Kree forces had dwindled from almost a thousand to a less than two hundred. The heroes had been fighting nearly nonstop for nearly forty minutes, but they could see the light at the end of the tunnel. For those with normal stamina, exhaustion had kicked in minutes ago, but they persevered and powered through. Too many lives were at stake for them to take a break and try and catch their breaths. The ships and many of the sentries had been destroyed, allowing many of those relegated to those factions to help out with the remainder of the foot soldiers.

Things were going well, when suddenly, something crash landed several yards away. The ground trembled, almost knocking some off their feet. Precious few seconds ticked by until the threat of a possible avalanche passed.

"I have had enough!" A purple blast erupted from the smoke cloud that had formed from the crash landing.

Thor jumped in the beam's path and deflected it with his hammer, where it careened off into outer space. "Ronan!"

Ronan exploded forward, a blur of blue and black. With a tremendous collision that shook the mountain range, he crashed into Thor, sending the thunder god barreling backward. Without slowing his momentum, he swung his hammer outward, unfurling a wave of energy that washed over hero and Kree alike.

Many of the heroes were laying prone on the ground. Those that weren't were either too disoriented to attack, or had taken a necessary moment to assess and formulate the best means of attack. Ronan's power was too great, so a direct assault was out of the question.

Ronan leaped into the air, intent on slamming his hammer down on them. The subsequent energy feedback would instantly kill anyone that wasn't already dead from the impact.

He never got the chance. Before he could bring his hammer down, Hulk spear tackled him away from the others. The two careened into one of the nearby mountains, showering the base with tons of rock and snow. They wrestled on the ground for a few moments before Ronan kicked the green goliath off of him. "Fool! Your strength is nothing compared to mine." With a single punch, he sent Hulk rocketing into, and through, another mountain.

Before Hulk could try to stand, Ronan was on him again, using his bootheel to drive his head through the ground. Again and again, he stomped on Hulk's head, until his skull was fractured and he was bleeding dark green blood.

"It does not matter what pigmentation your skin is or how large your muscles bulge! Your power is nothing to me!"With a mighty roar that echoed through the landscape, Ronan slammed his hammer down of the prone Hulk. The entire planet shook from the impact. Nearby, it was as if a 10.0 scale earthquake had ripped through the earth. The energy feed back obliterated the nearby mountains, reducing them to nothing but a pile of smoldering ash.

"Bruce!" Jen's anguished cry was the only sound apart of the distant rumbling.

Miraculously, Hulk was still alive, but barely. He had reverted back to Bruce Banner, who was just a broken and bloodied heap, motionless within a mass of broken rock and blackened snow.

Within seconds, the strongest being on the planet had been dispatched as though he were nothing. Whatever strategy they had come up with hinged on Hulk being able to almost match Ronan's strength, or at least be able to last long enough until his anger carried him the rest of the way. If he couldn't last even a full two minutes, what hope did the rest of them have.

Ronan returned. With a harrowing roar, he unleashed the full extent of his infinity gem enhanced power. The sky turned dark as purple wisps of energy erupted out of him. The ground beneath him collapsed and cratered. It felt like the entire planet was once again trembling. "YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL?! I WILL UNFURL THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND YEARS OF KREE JUSTICE ON TERRA, AND I WILL **BURN IT TO ITS CORE!** "

There was nothing anyone could have done to stop him. Rogue could have tried to absorb his life force, but with as much power – and the kind of power it was – as he had, she could have certainly been killed trying.

Vision blitzed forward and phased through Ronan's chest. The Kree grunted in discomfort, but was otherwise unhurt. He retaliated by firing a beam that passed through Vision's intangible body.

The android screamed out in pain and fell out of the sky, passing through the ground.

"Give him everything you got!" The Avengers and X-Men unloaded everything they had in their arsenal on Ronan. They didn't hold back. They couldn't. Right then was their last stand. If they failed, it was over.

Despite the sheer power being unleashed on him, Ronan stood tall and endured the onslaught without flinching. It didn't help that the likes of Ms. Marvel, Moonstone, and Storm were exhausted from destroying hundreds upon hundreds of Kree ships. Even a full powered optic blast from Cyclops, sans visor, did nothing of any note.

"He's unstoppable," Kitty concluded despondently.

"Nay I say to thee!" Thor rose into the sky, hammer pointed toward the heavens. "There is naught a power other than Odin himself who can best me! This Kree will fall before the might of Mjølnir!" Savage lightning bolts, tinged with gold luminescence, erupted from the storm clouds above him and struck the hammer. The runes on the hammer's head glowed brightly. "For Midgard!" he roared as he hurled his magical, nigh indestructible hammer as hard as he could.

Mjølnir was a silver blur streaking right for Ronan. It seemed that the Kree wouldn't have been able to stop the attack; not that he had bothered to stop anything else.

To the surprise of everyone, he did. He reached out and caught Mjolnir.

Thor's eyes widened with unadulterated shock. "Im-impossible," he stammered.

"It cannot be," Valkyrie murmured, body trembling from shock, and fear.

The Avengers knew of the enchantment Odin placed on Mjølnir, as Thor had told them about it during Tony's party last year just prior to Ultron's attack. They also knew that only those that Odin deemed worthy could lift the hammer. How Odin measured worth was anyone's guess, but that was the case. However, there was another caveat, a loophole that they didn't know of. If a being was equal to or more powerful than Odin, that person could bypass the enchantment and lift the hammer.

That was the case right then, which meant that at that very moment, Ronan the Accuser was at least as powerful as the All-Father of Asgard.

"Hmph." Ronan hurled the hammer back at its owner. It stopped just before it could smash Thor in the face.

The Son of Odin hesitantly reached up and grabbed hold of it. His shoulders sagged. He was utterly defeated. He knew that Odin was above him in strength; the extent of the gap between the two was not known, but it was a wide margin. If Ronan was above him, then there was nothing Mjølnir could do that would have caused any lasting damage.

Ronan pointed his universal weapon at the despondent heroes. Purple energy welled up and erupted from the head like violet cracks of lightning. Before he could fire, however, he screamed out and collapsed to the ground, gripping his head tightly.

Jean had penetrated his mind while he was distracted by Thor. She was attacking him from the inside, the one place where his vast, enhanced physical might would do him no good. Her psychic assault played another role, as well. It allowed her time to search through his memories to find out what it was that he wanted and find out everything she could about Thanos' plan, if he did indeed work for him.

* * *

 _Jean searched through Ronan's memories. She saw the past through the Supreme Accuser's eyes. She saw a strange, alien world that she knew to be Hala, thanks to Dr. Strange. She, and Ronan, were standing before a massive green head floating in a glass container. But, it wasn't real, but rather an artificial intelligence. The Supreme Intelligence, ruler of the Kree race._

 _There were other Kree there, as well. It was some kind of council meeting. "45%. There is not sufficient support for another war with the Skrull. As for the Terran abominations, 97%. It is sufficient. You will go to Terra and dispose of all the results of our earlier experiments."_

" _Yes," Ronan agreed._

" _Take who and what you must. Assimilate Terra if necessary."_

" _I understand, Supreme Intelligence."_

 _When Ronan left the council, he snarled and punched a hole in the wall beside. "Bah! Those fools do not what they are talking about. The Skrull must be destroyed once and for all. But how? There has to be a way. There has to be."_

* * *

 _Another memory rolled by, this one occurring after Ronan had left Hala. Jean found herself inside a large, empty room, with only a massive video screen on the wall in front of them. Displayed on the screen was a pale, grotesque alien creature with a black hood covering over much of its face. "You have been betrayed, Ronan," it said._

" _We know only that she has been captured," he replied. "Gamora may yet recover the orb."_

" _No. Our sources within the Kiln indicate that Gamora has her own plans for the orb. Your partnership with Thanos is in jeopardy."_

 _There was the confirmation she needed. He was working with Thanos, which meant that he was on Earth for an infinity gem, as well as his mission from his home planet._

" _Thanos requires your presence, NOW."_

 _Moments later, Jean was standing on an asteroid in outer space. It was just one of hundreds of space rocks, all ranging in size. There were three other people there: the grotesque creature from before, a blue cyborg woman using a laser to repair one of her arms, and a person sitting in a chair facing away from Ronan._

" _With all due respect, Thanos, your daughter made this mess, and yet you summon me."_

" _I would lower my voice, Accuser," the creature warned._

 _Ignoring it, he continued, "First, she lost a battle with some primitive."_

" _Thanos put Gamora under your charge," the creature pointed out._

" _Then, she was apprehended by the Nova Corps."_

" _You are the one here with nothing to show for it."_

" _Your own sources say she meant to betray us the whole time," Ronan growled, apparently incensed that the failure of this Gamora woman had been pinned on him._

" _Lower your tone! I will—"_

 _A simple force burst from his universal weapon twisted the creature's head 180º. It fell back with a thud. "I only ask that you take this matter seriously."_

 _The being in the chair, Thanos, didn't turn around when he addressed Ronan. "The only matter I do not take seriously, boy, is you. Your politics bore me. Your demeanor is that of a pouting child. And apparently, you alienated my favorite daughter, Gamora. I shall honor our agreement, Kree, if you bring me the mind gem. But, return to me again empty handed, and I will **bathe the star-ways in your blood.**_

 _The cyborg woman closed up her cybernetic arm and stood from her perch on one of the asteroid's ridges. "Thanks, Dad. Sounds fair." As she passed by Ronan, she told him. "This is one fight you won't win. Let's head to the Kiln."_

 _Ronan glared at the back of Thanos' chair before departing._

* * *

 _Another memory, this one on another alien world almost a year after the first two. The sky was green and the grass was blue, and it appeared to be inhabited by green people with antennae protruding from their foreheads. They, however, weren't Ronan's focus. Rather, he and his forces were busy battling a team of eight people. A man in a red leather jacket with rockets strapped to his boots and a strange looking helmet; a green woman with a sword; a large green man with red tattoos and two large knives; a walking tree; a talking raccoon; a man that she knew to be Nova; a purple, white haired Kree woman dressed in black with a large sword; and blonde man with a green gem embedded in his forehead._

 _The battle was mostly over. Ronan and his forces took advantage of the innocent bystanders to gain the upper hand on the team._

" _I will not let you take the orb, Accuser!" the Kree woman stated defiantly._

" _Silence, traitor!" He blasted her away and scanned the area carefully. "Ah!" His vision focused on the man in the leather coat. Or, rather, what he was holding in his hand. An ornate, silver bauble. He unleashed a massive energy beam that threatened to incinerate the man holding the bauble._

" _Shit!" The man dove for cover in time to narrowly miss certain death. In doing so, he dropped the bauble._

" _Peter! The orb!" the blonde man yelled._

 _But, it was too late. Ronan picked up the orb and opened it, revealing that it contained a single gleaming purple gem. The power gem. He removed it from its container. Immediately, immense, unimaginable power filled every cell within Ronan's body. Wisps of energy erupted from the gem, incinerating everything that they came into contact with. The ground collapsed and crater beneath him. It felt like the entire planet was shaking, as if a global earthquake were occurring._

 _The Kree soldiers closed in on the team, only to be stopped when Ronan raised his hand. By himself, he casually defeated the those that stood in opposition to him. They managed to escape in a green flash after realizing that nothing they were doing was doing any good. "We are leaving for Terra."_

 _Before he himself departed, he tapped his universal weapon against the ground. There was a massive eruption of purple energy that tore through the entire planet, reducing to space debris._

* * *

As Jean searched through Ronan's memories and assaulted the other parts of his brain, Vision arose from underground. Fully recovered and with no lasting damage, he unleashed a beam from his own infinity gem. The mind gem struck Ronan in the head, further damaging his mind.

However, because their minds were linked, the mind gem also assaulted Jean. Because of the sudden jolt of immense psychic pain, the mental link between the two was violently severed. She screamed out and fell to the ground.

"Jean!" Cyclops sprinted toward her.

The mind gem didn't just severe the mental link between Jean and Ronan. It also rapidly eroded a set of psychic barriers erected within Jean's psyche by Professor Xavier. Barriers that prevented her from utilizing her colossal psychic abilities to their absolute fullest potential. Those barriers also served as a cage for the more monstrous part of her personality.

Those barriers eroded quickly, until they crumbled and broke.

"No! Not now!" She rose to her knees and gripped her head. Her fist slammed into the ground, forming a small crater. She could feel it all rushing back to her like a broken dam. The thirst for power and destruction. With the barriers down, she wasn't strong enough to resist.

It was like her entire body had caught on fire. But, instead of being in unimaginable pain, she found only elation. The near endless power felt so good, and she embraced it. Her eyes filled with golden power as the uncontrollable fire within her manifested without her and took shape. A satisfied grin formed on her lips.

Scott, who had stopped dead in his tracks when he saw what was going on, sprinted again toward her. "No, no! Jean, fight it!"

She didn't hear him. Jean was gone.

Her body rose high into the air. he fiery aura around her exploded outward into the shape of an immense firebird, illuminating the sky for countless miles. In that moment, Ronan the Accuser knew fear. For, high above him or anyone else, one of the most feared cosmic entities in the universe had returned.

The Kree knew her as Phal'kon.

Others knew her as the World Destroyer.

Still others knew her as the Star Child.

" **I am fire! And life incarnate! Now and forever, I AM PHOENIX!** "


	40. Consuming Fire

_**Consuming Fire**_

 **SHIELD Headquarters**

Coulson and May walked inside SHIELD after their trip to the Raft to turn in Strucker and Viper. With them out of the way, they could only hope that the rest of Hydra – whatever was left of it – would fold in short order. "Get me Spectrum. I want to know what was on that ship."

"Sir!" Daisy called out from the mission control room. "There's an extinction level threat in the Himalayas."

"Yeah, I'm already aware that Ronan is there."

She shook her head quickly. "It's not the Kree."

That gave Coulson serious pause. He and May followed her into the control room and scrutinized the map. There was a tactical imagery satellite feed on one of the display screens in front of them. When he noticed it, his face grew grim. Well, more grim than it already was. "How long ago was this?"

"Just now. Maybe a few minutes ago," she answered.

"The Phoenix on top of an infinity gem enhanced Ronan. When it rains, it pours." He sighed heavily. "Get me the X-Mansion."

* * *

 **The Himalayas**

With just three words, any confidence that Ronan had in his victory evaporated like a dewdrop in the sun's core. Mere feet from him was the Phoenix Force itself. Had he known that one of the terrans was host to one of the most powerful cosmic forces in the entire universe, he would have killed her first. Not that it would have done any good.

The legend of the Phoenix was well known throughout the cosmos. It was well known that it was a nigh unstoppable force that thirsted for destruction. Everyone had heard about how it destroyed the star in the D'Bari star system and killed everyone in the entire galaxy, merely because it wanted to. That incident resulted in the Shi'ar, Kree, and Skrull empires coming together and decreeing that the Phoenix be destroyed by any means necessary.

Obviously, that endeavor failed.

It devoured stars, black holes, and wiped out billions with ease. It could destroy portions of the universe and remake them whenever it wanted to. It was even rumored that the Phoenix's power was on par with Galactus!

Which meant that not even Thanos could defeat it without using of a few infinity gems. Madness.

Ronan knew that he stood no chance against this force of nature.

 _No. I am Ronan, Supreme Accuser of the Kree Empire! I have in my possession the power gem. There are none who can stand before me._

He glanced up and saw the Phoenix lift her arm up. By simply closing her hand, she disintegrated the dozens of ships and sentries that were remaining. Their base molecular components funneled into her hand like water down a drain.

With a mere thought, she transmuted those molecules into a miniature sun. Miniature in size only; it still maintained the same heat and power of a fully sized star.

The very next fraction of a second, Thor quickly flew down to the ground and formed an impenetrable vortex barrier around the planet. Had he delayed for just a picosecond longer, everything and everyone on the planet would have been flash-fried from the diminutive sun's intense heat. He himself would have been able to survive, as he regularly walked on the sun's surface to reflect alone, but everyone else would have died.

Phoenix casually tossed the sun at the warship. On impact, the ship exploded in a ball of flames. There was nothing left but white hot ashes that fell to the ground like polluted snow.

In her other hand, she formed a ball of pure white light. It was a white hole, the theoretical opposite of a black hole. Whereas a black hole drew everything into itself, a white hole repelled everything. Its intense reversed gravitational push beat against Thor's barrier, but it didn't budge.

With a twitch of her eye, hundreds of inhumans that had been imprisoned on the ship on the other side of the planet appeared out of nowhere, as well as the Avengers and X-Men that had been dispatched to rescue them.

The white hole vanished, having been teleported in the next instant inside the ship. It was destroyed in a burst of cosmic gravitational force. The white hole dissipated before it could threaten to push the planet off its orbital path, which would have been utterly catastrophic.

In just a few seconds, Ronan witnessed the majority of his remaining army snuffed out. The inhumans that he had managed to capture were scampering into the colony with help from the terran heroes. Neither he, nor the remaining foot soldiers beside him could muster the strength to notice, much less do anything about it.

"The reports of its power are true," one soldier uttered, awestruck.

"Supreme Accuser, we must retreat while we still can!" another pleaded.

"Cowards! All of you! I have the power gem! There is no one in the entire universe that can match my strength!" Ronan snarled and turned his eyes skyward. "Hear me, Phal'Kon! You are nothing compared to me! Everything you have done is inconsequential to comparison to my power! There is nothing you can do to stop me from reducing this entire star system to ashes!"

His roars of absolute defiance echoed through the mountain range.

Thor, when it seemed that she was done threatening the planet, removed the barrier. When he did, Ronan unleashed an tremendously powerful blast from his hammer.

It would have incinerated any other being, even the likes of Thor and the Hulk. Phoenix barely noticed it. When she did, she stopped it in its tracks and shattered it into millions of molecules with a wave of her hand. " **Pathetic.** "

Ronan's eyes grew to saucers. "It cannot be." He fired another blast. Blast after blast exploded out of his hammer, the power gem's fury on full display. Each time, the same result occurred. Very soon, the sky was filled with hundreds of billions of little purple lights, like violet fireflies.

With a mere thought, those hundreds of billions of purple lights were transmuted into rainwater, a wall of water that drenched and almost drowned everyone below her.

"It's like she's not even trying," Tony marveled.

"I didn't know she was _this_ strong," Carol muttered. It was then that the Avengers realized how easily they had gotten off during their brief fight with the X-Men on Genosha. Jean didn't do much other than psychically assault them, but they then realized that she could have done so much worse.

For the Masters of Evil, whom Jean threatened only half an hour ago, it was like watching a glimpse into a future they very narrowly avoided. Had they slipped up just once, this sheer unimaginable power would have been unleashed on them.

Phoenix descended until she was a hundred feet from the Kree. The remaining soldiers, almost two hundred, cowered behind Ronan like small children. She began to walk toward them; a slow, deliberate saunter, as though she were taking a stroll in the park.

One last time, he fired a continuous beam from his universal weapon, more powerful than any of the others he had fired before. Even still, it was as if it had struck an impenetrable shield. The beam warped around her and dissipated, leaving a trail of purple globules behind her that floated harmlessly into the air.

The beam ceased and Phoenix halted when she was a mere two feet from Ronan. He and the rest of the Kree utterly dwarfed her in physical stature, but that was of no consequence.

Her visage was passive, mockingly so. As though everything he had attempted to do had bored her.

The soldiers, some of the Kree Empire's most elite, backed away like skittish woodland creatures. But, Ronan stood rooted to his place. "I do not fear you," he stated, voice calm and steady.

" **I know you do,** _ **boy.**_ "

At that, he snarled, absolutely incensed. "YOU CALL ME BOY?!" he roared. "INSOLENT WITCH!" He swung his warhammer for her head as hard as he could. "NOW DI—"

The hammer stopped midswing before it reached halfway. He tugged on it to free it from its invisible trap, but it was like a child trying to remove a street sign rooted in cement. Impossible.

"N-no!" He tried to back away, but he was caught in her telekinesis the same way his hammer was.

She placed a hand on his chest. " **Burn.** " Her hand released a controlled burst of cosmic fire, a flame that needed no catalyst or oxygen to burn. It consumed Ronan completely. His final scream echoed to the horizon before his body was completely engulfed in the flames. When it was snuffed out, there was nothing, not even a pile of ashes left of Ronan the Accuser.

The foot soldiers, having just witnessed their leader be annihilated in one attack, did the only sensible thing. They turned tail and ran. Some ran toward the sanctuary, somehow hoping that the inhumans would show mercy and give them shelter. Others ran down the mountain face.

It didn't matter where they ran. There was no escaping the firebird's wrath. She released more controlled bursts of cosmic fire. They were all obliterated, with nothing remaining but a memory.

With that, the Kree were no more.

For a long moment, Phoenix stood still, the same passive expression on her face as before. If she knew that the heroes were watching her and waiting for her to do something, she didn't bother to acknowledge them. Instead, she rose into the air, just barely a few feet from the ground. **"Many innocent lives have been taken today. Rise."**

Her fiery aura blazed, accompanied by an almost deafening phoenix cry that echoed throughout the planet. Her fire expanded and touched every corner of the earth. Every person who had been killed because of the Kree invasion was brought back to life. Everything that had been destroyed was restored to its previous state. This included Genosha, the entire island and every building on it.

Her aura retracted and she lowered back to the ground. With one final thought, she forcibly regrew Ant-Man and teleported him from where the warship had been hovering to where the others were standing. He had to retreated to the Microverse just before Ronan's attack hit him and had been there ever since. The others thought he was dead, but the Phoenix detected his thoughts.

Scott looked around, completely bemused. "Wha-what the hell? What's going on?"

"Scott!" Janet leaped into his arms and kissed him all over. She hugged him more tightly than she had hugged anyone in years, and kissed him passionately one more time. "You're alive."

A deep crimson blush covered his face. He was dazed for a second before regaining his wits about him. "I—Yeah, I'm okay. I'm sorry." _Holy shit, she just kissed me._

"Just... just don't ever do something that stupid again."

He nodded in complete agreement. "Okay."

Scott Summers cautiously crept past them. "Jean," he called out, his voice unusually unsure.

Phoenix regarded him curiously. It knew who he was, as Scott and Jean shared an uncanny psychic bond that carried over when the Phoenix took over. It was about to reply when it faltered and stumbled back. The only explanation could have been that the hostess was finally trying to regain control. "Scott."

Suddenly, she grunted and fell back onto the snowy ground. Her fiery aura disappeared, leaving only the redheaded mutant lying prone on the ground.

Scott slid to a stop and knelt down next to her. He gently lifted her head in his arms and felt for a pulse. When he found one, he sighed in relief. "Cyclops to X-Mansion. Does anyone read me?"

It was Piotr Rasputin, aka Colossus, who answered him. _=Da, Cyclops, we are here.=_

"Tell Emma to meet us at the Mansion. Jean lost control again. Everything's alright, but she needs those barriers back up ASAP."

 _=Da, I will tell her. I have good news, comrade! The professor is finally awake!=_

That brought a smile to Scott's face. Both because his mentor and father figure was going to be okay, and because he then knew how Jean managed to regain control. "That's great to hear. We'll be back shortly."

"So, is that it?" Peter asked. "Is it over?"

"Yeah, webs. It's over," Logan replied.

Before anyone could even think of celebrating, Thor stepped forward toward Ronan's universal weapon. "Nay, 'tis not over until we have the power gem in our possession. It is too dangerous to be left out in the open."

He was right.

It was at that very moment that a tremendous flash of light erupted from somewhere nearby, blinding everyone. Nebula's personal ship, much smaller than the one she and her fellow Luphomoids had been traveling in, descended quickly and hovered a few feet above the ground. The cyborg exited her ship with haste and removed the power gem from Ronan's fallen universal weapon. She quickly placed it inside its spherical container, then leaped back into her ship and flew away.

The first person to recover, Vision, noticed the gemless warhammer and the ship flying away, and quickly put two and two together and gave chase. But, with her headstart, she was able to escape the atmosphere and disappear through a wormhole before he could gain any ground.

She and the power gem were gone, whisked away to the other side of the universe.

In the meantime, the others were slowly regaining their composure after the sudden disorientation. Those that recovered quickly noticed that Vision was gone. The more astute of them saw that the power gem was missing.

"What the hell was that?"

Vision landed softly beside the others. He sighed despondently. _"That was a flash grenade, if I am not mistaken,"_ he answered Luke. _"I do not know what happened for certain, but there was an alien ship that has just disappeared through a wormhole. The power gem is also missing. It is, then, logical to conclude that whoever utilized the flash grenade stole the gem while we were disoriented and escaped with it."_

"Damn it!" Thor roared. "It will surely fall into the hands of Thanos now. Damn it all!"

The Kree had been defeated finally. The planet was safe once again, but it suddenly felt like they had suffered a devastating loss. If what Thor said was true, then Thanos had at least one infinity gem. If what Dr. Strange said about Thanos was true – about him being as strong _without_ a gem as Ronan was _with_ one – then an already impossible task became even more daunting.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** _Well, just four more chapters to go before this one is in the books. Hope I did Phoenix justice. Leave a review to tell me how I did!_

 _And I now officially announce a new series within The Masters AU called Untold Stories. It's a collection of scenes that I either failed to think of when writing the story they're based in, or just couldn't fit in without it seeming forced and clunky. From Magneto's reaction to Wanda's death, to more scenes with Mahr-Vehl, and everything else I can think of. That will be debuting at the beginning of 2017, and I'll be giving more details in the coming weeks._

 _Also, part 7 of The Masters AU will be dropping the first of March. I'll reveal the title, main antagonist, and all that at a later date. Later, guys!_


	41. Clearing the Air

_**Clearing the Air**_

Cyclops called down the X-Jet, while Jocasta called down the two quinjets. The mission was complete. The invasion had been thwarted, and the Kree army had been destroyed. They had done the seemingly impossible and defeated Ronan, thanks to a surprising and awe-inspiring appearance by the Phoenix. They hadn't been expecting her, and they knew not to expect her again. She was too powerful to be controlled, and too dangerous to tempt by taking down the protective barriers restraining her repeatedly. It was a foolish hope that they could simply place her on a leash and use her as they saw fit.

"X-Men, thank you for all the help," Steve said with genuinely gratitude. "We couldn't have done this without you guys."

Cyclops nodded and handed Jean off to Logan so he could secure her on the X-Jet. "It was no issue, Steve."

"About time you people lifted a finger to help us," Natasha muttered darkly. It could have possibly been intended to be said under her breath, but was still plenty loud enough for those close to her to hear her clearly.

"Excuse me?"

She cocked her head back and raised an eyebrow at a visibly surprised Storm. "You heard me. I guess you only bother to help when your necks are also on the line."

"That's enough, Natasha," Steve said sharply.

"No, no. Let's let the lady have her say. I can see it on the junior X-Men's faces," Tony said, jabbing a thumb at Jubilee and Rogue, "they're still pretty pissed about what happened."

The two in question grew incensed. "You're damn right we are. Our friends are still dead because you couldn't be damned to pick up a phone."

"Guys, can we please postpone this until tomorrow?" Janet pleaded to the more sensible people. "I have literally not slept in the last two days."

"That's nice," she replied condescendingly.

"Kitty, just leave it," Cyclops said firmly.

"Okay, first of all—" Janet started snappishly before Steve cut her off.

"Enough. This isn't helping anything."

"Sure it is," Tony said. "Clearing the air is necessary for these little partnerships to work, you know."

Steve cut him his usual dissuading glare. "I'm aware, Tony."

"Are you also aware that you're a fraud with no integrity?" Kitty asked him curiously. When Steve looked at her, eyes wide with shock, she smirked and continued. "Oh, Mr. I-Hate-Hydra didn't think agreeing to work with Hydra and Nazis would have any consequences? Guess what? It did. Just because you two buddies over there," she gestured at Bucky and Jessica, "sympathize with them doesn't mean you had to. But you did. And that means you're just as bad as they are, because you overlooked all the shit they've done because it was convenient. Where I come from, we don't do what's convenient; we do what's right."

"Fraulein has you there, Rogers," Zemo commented from the peanut gallery.

Steve grew silent. She was right. He had no room to defend himself, nor did he have the right.

"Am I missing something?" Thor asked, bemusedly glancing from person to person. "There are matters of greater import we must attend to. Why are you all bickering like children?"

"Because these assholes have the fucking gall to give us shit for their friends being killed, when they didn't even lift a goddamned finger when _we_ were killed!" Carol screamed, finally at her wits end and tired of holding it in. She turned to face the X-Men, eyes blazing with a nuclear glare. Specifically at Kitty. "You have some nerve. You wanna call Steve a fraud? Look in a fucking mirror."

"Are you serious?" Clint thought about it for a moment, then realized that she was right. "Yeah, you're right. What the hell, guys? I thought we were friends."

"Goddamn it," Cyclops cursed under his breath. From his and Storm's reactions – ones of shame and guilt – it was clear that they realized this.

"No phone call, no apology, nothing," Natasha added. "Not even a welcome back. I knew you were a lot of things, but hypocritical wasn't one of them."

"Until now." Tony gestured for someone to say something. "Well? What do you have to say for yourselves?"

Ororo set a disapproving frown upon Kitty, who looked suitably ashamed for losing her composure, then answered him. "We were in the Savage Land to deal with Mr. Sinister when it happened," she explained quietly. "We didn't know what had happened until we returned."

"That's no excuse," Scott continued. "There were X-Men on call, like always when we leave the country. It was on them to help when you needed it, but they didn't. They are no longer on the team... but I suppose it doesn't matter now."

"Did they explain why?"

"They were scared of what would happen if Zemo still won and they were captured." He didn't sound too convinced of that himself.

The major X-Men weren't available. That made sense. He didn't buy that the likes of Storm and Wolverine, both of whom were close with many of the Avengers, would sit on their hands and let them die.

"That's good and all," Monica said, filling the tense silence that had fallen, "but that doesn't explain why you didn't help _us_." By 'us', she meant the New Avengers, who had been called on to pick up the slack in the Avengers' absence. "We were outnumbered and outmatched."

"If we hadn't jacked that insight minicarrier," Luke added, "we would have been up a shit creek without a paddle."

"When we returned, the Avengers were already dead and Zemo had taken over. He showed up at the X-Mansion and told us if we interfered, he would have slaughtered our students."

There was no doubt that Zemo would have carried through on that threat.

"We... I allowed my anger and pain to cloud my judgment," Storm said quietly. "If you can find it in your hearts to forgive us, I can do the same." Her fellow mutants nodded in agreement.

"I can't speak for everyone, but I'm willing to bury this if you are," Steve said. His fellow Avengers, including Carol to his relief, nodded in agreement.

"Then, it's settled." Cyclops shook his hand, then turned to board the X-Jet. "If you ever need us, just call."

He nodded, and watched them depart.

The X-Men were gone, as was their blood feud, of sorts. The Avengers stood alone on the peak of one of the Himalayan mountains.

Steve didn't have to turn around to know that there were some on the team that didn't like that it was settled that quickly. After what happened on Genosha, there should have been something more than a simple apology and a burial of the proverbial hatchet. While he himself could understand that viewpoint, he knew that it didn't do them any good. The world was still very vulnerable, even before the mutant/human race war and the Kree invasion.

Simply put, the heroes needed to be on a united front if they were going to be ready to repel the next would-be world conqueror. A divided house could not stand. If there was any infighting among the ranks, the army was going to fold in on itself. Evil would win and the world would be plunged into a dark age it may have never climbed out of. As long as he drew breath, he would make sure that never happened.

If that meant flexing his authority more forcefully than he normally would have, so be it.

"Well, that was almost a disaster," Rhodey said succinctly.

"True. But, a necessary one," Tony somewhat agreed. "We can't function properly if there's any hidden animosity between us. Between this, and Carol's beef with Rogue, I don't really think our relationship will ever be the same."

"But, that doesn't mean we can't at least be professional," Monica noted. "We just proved that we can work together with anyone when the chips are down. And I do mean _anyone."_ She cut her glance toward the Masters of Evil. Mandarin was gone. Thor had Zemo held up by his collar, with an unconscious Karla on the ground. The other Masters were running away toward the quinjets. "Um."

"My father would very much like to meet you, Baron Zemo. I believe you and he have much to discuss about your actions yonder years ago."

Zemo squirmed and fidgeted in his grasp, but was in no way capable of breaking free from his vice-like grip. "Let go of me, you fool!"

Peter unleashed a stream of webbing to catch the retreating Masters. "Where ya going, guys? You don't want to miss out of the all expense paid vacation to the Raft, do you?" The four hapless criminals were encased in web cocoons with just enough space to allow them to breathe easily. Escape, on the other hand, was quite impossible. His webbing was strong enough to give Carol a hassle. "All in all, not a bad haul. Think Coulson will be happy."

Steve smiled smugly and walked up to Thor and Zemo. "Well, well. Looks like your luck has finally run out, Helmut."

"Damn you, Rogers."

Steve chuckled. It wasn't like him to enjoy other people's suffering; but when it came to a blowhard like Helmut Zemo, he would have been more than happy to make an exception. "Well, enjoy Asgardian Justice©." Whatever that meant.

"Fair well, my friends. I will dispose of these two within the bowels of Asgard's finest prison cells, then I shall return after updating my father on what we have learned." With one final nod, he asked Heimdall to open the Bifrost Bridge. The familiar rainbow column of cosmic energy washed over Thor and his two prisoners, whisking him away to another realm in the blink of an eye.

Just like that, they were gone.

"You aren't going?" he asked Brunnhilda.

"Nay, not yet. I believe I will remain here on Midgard for a spell and, as you mortals say, take in the sights, before I make my return to Asgard," she answered. "There is still much I do not know of this realm and its people."

That was a good a reason as any to stick around. "If you ever need a tour guide around Brooklyn, I'd be more than happy to show you around."

She smiled and nodded.

Slowly, the team filed into either of the two quinjets, until there was only a handful of Avengers remaining outside.

Danny was one of them. He noticed Jen leave to retrieve Bruce, and wanted to stay behind in case he needed any healing. He was sure he did; he took a savage beating from Ronan. One that none of them had been expecting.

There was also the matter of hypothermia to worry about. Bruce was shirtless, shoeless, and was probably buried under a mountain of snow, pardon the pun. He wasn't dead – Danny could feel his chi flowing as strongly as ever – so there was that.

Luke remained behind, also.

"Man, what a day," he said quietly.

"You can say that again," Luke agreed. "Forget Mexico; we should build a wall around the planet to keep all these fuckers away."

While they could laugh about it right then, they had very nearly lost everything. If it wasn't for the Phoenix showing up to make the last minute save, Ronan was going to win. There was no doubting that. Unless Vision was more powerful than he was letting on, he was too much for them to handle. Everything they did had no effect. Everything. "That was a close one."

Any smile that Luke had been enjoying disappeared. "Yeah. Too close for my taste. These infinity gems are no joke."

"And, that Thanos guy is probably stronger than Ronan." Danny sighed and took a step toward the cliff. "We can't beat him. Not yet."

There was no need to let optimism get in the way of the truth. If they faced Thanos right then and there, even at full strength, they were going to lose. Badly. And that was if Thanos _didn't_ have any gems. If he did, they had no hope.

"Thought you were an optimist." Luke eyed him carefully, then sighed as he finally nodded in agreement. "But, you're right. He's gonna kick our asses, even if we spend the next how much ever longer we got preparing for him. He's got Strange of all people scared stiff."

"Yeah."

"We said the same about Zemo and the Masters," Jen said as she finally returned. Bruce was in really bad shape. His face and chest were badly bruised and bloody. His extremities were blackened from being in the snow unprotected for so long. "And we said that about Ultron. And then Ronan."

He knew where she was going, and she was right to think that way. They had been up against seemingly insurmountable odds before, and had always come out on top. In hindsight, those obstacles weren't really as high as they thought they were at the time. But, despite knowing that, he couldn't stop himself from thinking that they were in for a rude awakening against Thanos. "You're right. But, Dr. Strange manipulated the time stream to bring the Avengers back _because_ of Thanos. You can't say that about any of the other villains we've faced."

"True." She didn't say more until she was aboard one of the quinjets. Danny and Luke followed her; the former knelt down beside Bruce after she laid him down on the ground. "But, if we give up now, we definitely won't stand a chance."

"Hey, who said anything about giving up? I just don't want any of us to underestimate this guy. Strange said that he can do everything Ronan could do _without_ the power gem. Imagine what he could do _with_ it."

Danny laid his hands upon Bruce and healed him. Slowly, the bruises disappeared, and the cuts and gashed closed up without leaving scars. Finally, the effects of the onset of hypothermia faded and disappeared. He breathed out and stepped away to let Jen wrap Bruce in a blanket.

"You're really bumming me out, Danny," Janet said from her seat next to Scott. "I mean, when _you_ of all people start stressing..."

He smiled wryly. "I'm sorry. I guess this whole thing has been a wakeup call." He shrugged and took a seat and strapped in. "This is cosmic stuff we're dealing with. I'm afraid that's out of my weight-class. That won't stop me from trying, but I don't want us to go into this overconfident. Pride before a fall and all that."

"Fair enough. It's out of mine, too. But, you know the old saying: if there's a will, there's a way. There's always a way. Nothing is unbeatable."

An interesting outlook. Not one that he could find fault in, even if thinking so contradicted what he had just said. True, everything had a weakness; it was only a matter of finding it. Someone like Thanos, who was so powerful he forced the most powerful sorcerer on the planet to manipulate time and resurrect a team of heroes so they could lead the charge against him, had a weakness. It was only a matter of finding it.


	42. City of Refuge

_**City of Refuge**_

 **The Himalayas**

There were only a few Avengers that remained out in the harsh, bitterly cold air near the peak of the Himalayan mountain; Steve, Tony, Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, and Pietro. The twins shivered and huddled together, as they had so many times in the past to brave the icy winds. It was unlike what they faced in Eastern Europe, but it helped. Steve, Tony, and Rhodey were better shielded against the cold, either by being a supersoldier or being insulated within the armor's internal heating system. Sam, well, unfortunately, he was left to shiver and freeze on his own.

Steve could hardly believe that Natasha of all people nearly set off another skirmish. Tony, he could see. Carol had been chomping at the bit, praying someone say something to her so she could start swinging. Pietro, he had been on his best behavior as of late, but it was only a matter of time before he said something flippant. But, Natasha? She was the most level-headed person he knew, by far. For her to let her emotions get the better of her was surprising to say the absolute very least.

It didn't escape his notice that she was on the quinjet that had just taken off for the Avengers Facility. Undoubtedly planned that way so she could have plenty of time to come up with a cover story for her loss of composure.

"You were pretty quiet," Sam noted to Pietro, words obfuscated by his chattering teeth. "I'd have thought you'd be all over them."

The speedy mutant shrugged. "They have long carried a victim's complex. That some of them forgot their failings to instill courage into their younger ranks in favor of righteous indignation is hardly a surprise."

"It is sad," his sister mused, "that a strong relationship has devolved into petty insults and screaming. I could feel it in her heart. She hates them."

"Who?"

"Carol." Steve shook his head sadly. "I tried to tell her that feeling that way was natural, but she couldn't hold onto it and not expect it to ruin her life. I don't want to see her become bitter."

"A little late for that," Tony remarked.

"Any idea what the hell happened to her?" Sam inquired. "She doesn't seem like the anti-mutant type."

Steve swallowed. He knew what Sam was trying to say. She had changed. And for those that weren't on the east coast Avengers team, that change was very sudden. She was a bit more detached and distant than she had been when they were all assembled to face Ultron. She still had the drive to be the very best, but she went about it in a very remote manner. It was like someone was controlling her from a faraway distance like a video game. "It's not my place to say."

While that was a good enough answer for Sam and Tony, Pietro cleared his throat. "Although, if you knew Rogue as long as I have, it is quite obvious." Tony gave him an expectant look. Given his annoyed huff of a sigh, that was all he had been expecting to say. "She has the ability to drain a person's life force through touch. She gains a person's memories, personality traits, and in the case of a superhuman, abilities."

It didn't take a genius to connect the dots. Anyone who knew Rogue knew that she didn't have super strength and couldn't fly naturally.

"I see. And what happens to those she touches?" Tony queried.

"Depends on how long she holds on," Wanda answered. "If only for a few moments, the victim becomes weak, but is otherwise fine. If she holds on any longer, they fall unconscious, and possibly into a coma. Too long, and... Well, we should be grateful that our friend is still with us. And, instead of discussing her personal business in a roundabout way, we should be figuring out how to help her."

"We can't help her if we don't know what happened to her," Tony argued reasonably.

"If Carol wants our help, she'll ask for it," Steve said.

"Steve, she doesn't look like the kind of woman who goes around admitting she needs help. If anything, she's like me and will stubbornly try to get through on her own, even if it kills her."

He looked at Tony and sighed. "I know."

"Then?"

He didn't answer. Tony was right, but he didn't want to force help on her. Doing that would have only made close herself off from the others, and him. That was very last thing he wanted. But, at the same time, he couldn't let her grow bitter toward the X-Men, especially when they were only doing what the Avengers had been doing with several of their members.

"Danvers is a professional, Rogers," Pietro felt the need to point out. "The last few hours have proven that she can work with people she doesn't like if the need arises. I see no reason to assume that the same won't hold true in the future. You're worrying over something that you have no control over. That is an equally destructive mindset."

He sighed again. "Yeah, you're right. I just... I just want her to be happy. And she isn't. I can tell."

"Then, make her happy. Take her out to dinner, for a walk on the beach, or whatever it is people in relationships do," he suggested. "Help her focus on the positive things in life and she will find it easier to cope with the negatives. Trust me."

It sounded like Pietro was speaking from experience. He had to have been, given that he spent over a year by himself after Wanda died. He didn't spend all that time wallowing in self-hatred. And what he said made sense. It was about time he made a move. He had held back out of respect for her and her plight, but the time for waiting was over. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He then quirked an eyebrow and allowed a faint smirk to touch his lips. "Since when do you like me enough to give me relationship advice?"

"Since you being with Danvers has kept your eyes off my sister," he said dryly.

 _He knew?!_

Wanda scoffed and turned toward the sanctuary. Steve pretended not to see the blush on her cheeks. "You—"

Before she could get the second word out, the doors to the sanctuary opened. In the threshold stood Crystalia, a wide, gracious smile on her lips. "Oh, you are still here. Why are you standing out here in the cold?"

"That is a great question," Sam spoke. The chattering had gotten a lot worse.

She gestured for them to come inside. "Please, please, come in."

He heard Pietro gasp softly and withheld the chuckle that nearly rippled out. "Thank you, miss." He led the others inside, following Crystalia through the tunnel leading from the door. "Is everyone alright?"

"Yes, everyone is just fine now that the Kree are gone. Words cannot describe how grateful we are that you stopped them from wiping us out."

"I would say it was no trouble, but I think we all know that's a lie," Sam said with a small laugh.

"Indeed. They have caused us all a fair bit of stress. But, now they are in the past, and we can focus on moving forward." As she spoke, they entered the inhuman settlement.

With their continued use of words like "sanctuary" and "settlement", they got the idea that the inhumans were holed up in a single fortress-like building. This belief was very, very wrong. The inhuman sanctuary was an actual city! A domed city, to be precise. What they witnessed was beyond description.

The architecture was more advanced and futuristic than any other city they had been to. Only Wakanda came close to matching. Buildings, most gold and sometimes ebony in color, stretch high into the sky, until they were almost touching the domed ceiling. Silver paved streets criss-crossed across the city; most of the foot traffic was confined to the three main roads: Avenues of Stability, Harmony, and Kings. There were parks, a residential area filled with over a dozen different neighborhoods for the city's residents, a marketplace, and even a university with well-educated tutors.

In the northwest corner of the city, just north of the Avenue of Kings and west of the Parliment building, was the remains of the Old City. It was actually a vast temple, where the very first inhumans were created by the Kree millions of years ago. From there, the city expanded, both outward and upward, until it became what the Avengers were seeing before them that day.

In the center of the city was the Royal Palace, where Blackagar, Medusalith, and the other members of the Royal Family resided. Attached directly to it, to the south, was the Terrigen Lab. It was there that terrigen mist was produced so that there was plenty to turn any potentially dormant inhumans. It was also here that newly hatched inhumans were trained in using and repressing their abilities, should they have wanted to returned to the world at large to attempt to live a "normal" life.

"Welcome to Attilan, the Great Refuge."

"Incredible," Tony uttered. His mouth was slightly agape from sheer awe as his eyes took in what was happening around him. As an engineer, he could appreciate the technological advances on display. Most notably the dome above them, and how it didn't appear to be made of glass, plastic, or any other kind of man-made material.

An entire city, hiding out in the middle of the Himalayan mountains. It was too unreal to believe, and yet, there they were, standing right in the middle of it.

"How long have you guys been here?" Sam asked. He, and everyone else, was just as awed and slack-jawed as Tony was.

She answered as they walked down the Avenue of Kings toward the Royal Palace. "We have been in the Himalayas only recently. For a long time, Attilan was located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. But, as your human technology became more advanced, Blackagar decided that it would have been best to move the city to another location for our own safety."

"How long ago was that?"

"About fifty years ago."

That sentiment made sense. As hateful as normal humans were toward those with advanced gifts, they would have treated the inhumans with mistrust and outright hatred, just like they did everyone else. It would have only been a matter of time before they attempted to take the city over.

"It amazes me that you have managed to stay hidden for so long," Wanda said. "I didn't know this place existed."

Crystal nodded knowingly. "It was for our own safety. We saw how other people like us were treated and wished to avoid that at all costs."

"You mean mutants?"

"Um, is that what they are called?"

"Yes, that is the nicest thing they call us."

"If only Magneto were this inconspicuous with Genosha," Pietro mused. "There is not much difference between you and us. However, that won't make much difference."

Crystal frowned when she regarded him. "What do you mean?"

"Your terrigen mist nullifies mutant abilities and sterilizes any potential mutants." When she gasped quietly, he grimaced. "And there are some who hold you all responsible."

"And by some, he means our father." Whatever smile she had been carrying at seeing such a magnificent city died at the very mention of Magneto. "I would not be surprised if he somehow found out about this place and came to exact some kind of revenge."

They were lucky he and the other members of the Brotherhood had already left before Coulson revealed Attilan's location. The very last thing they needed as that madman knocking on their front door demanding two acres and a goat for every mutant the terrigen mist affected.

"I... see. Well, I am sure that can be resolved without violence." While that was an optimistic outlook to have, it was clear that she had no idea what they were in for if they ever crossed paths with Magneto. "Oh! Where are my manners? My name is Crystalia Amaquelin, but you can just call me Crystal."

"That's a beautiful name," Pietro said before he could stop himself.

She smiled, which only grew when she saw that he was blushing. "Oh, thank you."

Wanda took note of the exchange with narrowed eyes. "Yes. My name is Wanda and this is my brother, Pietro. And they are Steve, Tony, and Sam."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Crystal," Steve said with a respectful nod.

They entered the Royal Palace. It was every bit as regal and breathtaking as the palace in Wakanda. But, at the same time, it was far more more advanced, to the point of being alien. The section Crystal led them to, which appeared to be the throne-room, was a wide and spacious area. The metallic floor was a greyish-silver with a circle engraved in the center; it was covered with rune-like engravings. Inside the circles radius were ten silver chairs, where the members of the Royal Family would sit during meetings. On the outside of the circle, there were large pillars lined up along the perimeter. These pillars had a pair of illuminated blue stripes around the middle and toward the bottom.

In the center of the was Blackagar's throne. It was almost exactly the same as the other chairs, except that it was hovering a few feet above the ground.

Many of the chairs were occupied. Medusalith, Gorgon, and Triton were all present. And, of course, Blackagar was sitting stoically, and quietly.

"Ah." Medusalith looked up when they walked in and stood to greet them. "On behalf of Attilan, you have my most sincere gratitude. Words cannot describe how thankful we are that you defeated the Kree army." The other inhumans murmured their agreement.

It was clear from their body language that some of the inhuman Royal Family weren't too comfortable around humans. That was understandable, since there was enough suspicion of humans to move their entire city from the Pacific Ocean to the Himalayan mountains.

Steve took it all in with bated awe. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. An entire city, with a government and citizens and the like, hidden away from human eyes. If something this magnificent could have gone this long without being detected, he couldn't even imagine what else was out there. The planet they all lived one was a massive one, one that held countless secrets. Even with all the vast advancements in technology and exploratory techniques, there was still something that popped up to surprise them. "You're welcome. It was the right thing to do. You guys didn't ask for this to happen, and it wasn't right to be punish for something you had nothing to do with."

It appeared that something about his answer both surprised and amused her. "Yes, we didn't ask for it. But, we play with the cards we are dealt." She glanced at her husband, and held his gaze for several moments before nodding. "My husband gives you his gratitude and has sworn to repay this great kindness in the future."

At that, they cocked their heads back in bafflement. "He did? I... didn't hear him."

She smiled. "Blackagar's voice is so powerful that a mere whisper would destroy not only this entire city, but also the mountain range and many miles beyond that. As such, he has refrained from making even the slightest sound."

They had encountered metahumans with sonic voices before, such as Banshee and Siryn of the X-Men, as well as Songbird; but none of them came even close to the level Black Bolt apparently had. A whisper could have destroyed the entire mountain range? It was too staggering to even begin to comprehend. "Wow. That... wait, does that mean he can't speak or sneeze or even yawn, like, ever?" Tony asked as only he could.

"Yes, that is correct."

"But, wait. If he can't make a single sound, how do you two have—?"

"Tony!"

"A conversation, Wanda. I was going to say a conversation."

"We have a telepathic link, he and I, that allows us to communicate without speaking. Though, that means I have to serve as his mouthpiece."

"Huh. Pretty nifty."

"Mm. Though, it does have its drawbacks." A sorrowful frown touched her brow for the briefest of moments before it was whisked away. "I am certain you are exhausted from your battles. If you like, you can be our temporary guests for the night, before returning to your allies tomorrow?"

That was a tempting offer. To spend even one day in a place as whimsical as this was an experience that not many could even dream of, much less actually live through. But, it was an experience that would have to wait until a future date. They had the second quinjet waiting on them, and it would have been rude to make them wait in the cold. "As much as I would love to," Steve answered, "We need to get home. Our friends are waiting for us outside."

She nodded. "I see. Well, perhaps another time. Under more favorable circumstances." She gestured toward a pair of royal guards, who then stepped forward and bowed before the Avengers. "They will escort you to your friends. Farewell, and godspeed."

"Goodbye, Crystal," Pietro shyly said. He then quickly added, "And everyone else. Goodbye."

A soft blush touched her cheeks. "Goodbye, Pietro. It was so nice to meet you."

Wanda scoffed quietly and gave the inhumans an expansive wave.

The Avengers were escorted down the Avenue of Kings by the two imperial guards. As they departed, they were sent off by countless inhumans all giving them their eternal gratitude. They had heard it all before, but that didn't stop them from embracing the warm feeling in their chests that came from hearing that they did a job well done.

" _Goodbye, Crystal,"_ Wanda mocked her brother.

Pietro was still too wound up from Crystal bidding him and him alone a fond farewell and saying that it was a pleasure to meet _him_ to respond. He did growl irritably, but even that was half-hearted.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were jealous," Sam said with a laugh.

She rolled her eyes and gave an unconvincing, "Oh, please."


	43. Aftermath

_**Aftermath**_

 **Avengers Facility**

 **The Next Day – 8:00 PM**

Hours passed without any more major incident. Any trouble that did start was thankfully foiled by either the police or local superheroes. For the Avengers and X-Men, a day off or two was much needed. The same could have been said about the entire planet. Just a day ago, they overcame yet another global catastrophe. Their heroes came through once again, but there were many seriously questioning how many more times they could be pushed to the brink of annihilation and be able to regroup.

It was a fair concern. In just three short years, more cataclysmic events occurred one after the other than had occurred in decades. If it wasn't one thing, it was another. If it wasn't an alien god leading an alien army in a bid to take over the world, it was a psychotic robot hellbent on global genocide. People had long become sick and tired of fearing for their lives.

This was what President Simpson spoke about when she addressed the nation the night after the invasion was finally defeated. _"First and foremost, I would like to extend a sincere word of gratitude to the Avengers and the X-Men for their defeat of the Kree invasion early yesterday morning. If it wasn't for their courage and perseverance under intense opposition, we would not be here right now._

" _However, I'm here tonight to address the growing concerns among our citizens over threats we face that are not of this world. Seemingly every day, new threats are filling our peaceful streets with chaos. I don't need to remind anyone of the catastrophes in New York, Western Europe, and most recently Genosha. Tragedies that seem to be growing in both number and scale. The organizations we have had place to protect us have failed in that capacity. While the most recent alien invasion was thwarted with only minimal loss of life,_ _any_ _loss of life is a failure._

" _There are families that have been ripped apart time and again, and the people of the planet Earth are tired of worrying about what tomorrow will bring. While I wish I could say that we should face the future with courage, I myself find that is becoming more and more difficult with each passing day. Every threat that arises, no matter how relatively small, now appears to be 'the one', the one that ends life as we know it forever. Those that are afraid for their lives, their family's lives, and the lives of those they care about, have every right to be fearful. We now live in a world where life on other planets is no longer a what-if or a dream imagined by science fiction, but a reality. And we have now two indications that those otherworldly beings do not come in peace._

" _I wish there was an easy fix for this. I wish it were as simple as building a wall around the planet Earth, or simply telling all other planets that their visitors are not welcome, but it is not. There have to be measures taken to ensure that our planet is safe from these invaders, many of which possess technology and weaponry that outclass ours by many, many orders. There are organizations that specialize, believe it or not, in these types of threats, and I have already spoken with their leaders. We all agree that adjustments must be made in how we monitor and prepare for future threats. To completely minimize – and hopefully, eliminate – the loss of life which seems to be always an inevitability when something goes awry, we must be proactive._

" _If forethoughtfulness means sending representatives to other worlds and making peace treaties or even trade agreements with them, then so be it. If that means sending invasion forces of our own, so be it. Whatever it takes to ensure the safety of the people of this planet, it will be done. One thing is for sure, we now stand at the threshold of a new reality. A reality where we are not the only lifeforms in this universe, and that we are very close to the bottom of the food chain. However, in spite of how much more advanced they are than us, twice now, we have shown those extraterrestrial invaders that we are not to be taken lightly. If they still don't believe me, I invite them to look at the piles of alien corpses we've been disposing of since yesterday morning._

" _To cross into our atmosphere is a death sentence. That is an encouragement to those of this world, and a warning to those who are not. Thank you."_

Thor sighed heavily. "I understand fully what Lady Simpson is doing, but all she has done in truth is allowed credence to the hateful thoughts festering in her followers' hearts."

"Can you blame them?" Tony asked. "Jean bailed us out this time, but a lot of people died before she decided to do us a solid. This is what I was talking about." They all immediately remembered what he said last year after he lied about being Ultron's creator. _'We're the Avengers. We can bust bank robbers and super gangs all live long day, but that up there... that's the endgame. ...[T]his vulnerable world needs something a lot more powerful than any of us.'_

Even today, his words rang truer than any of them, himself included, wanted to admit. Ronan pushed them beyond the brink, but Phoenix pulled them back in a blink. They knew not to depend on her ever again, not if Jean and Professor Xavier had any say in it. That was fair; it was her decision. And a wise one.

"We are not enough. There has to be something, anything, that can give us the edge. I just don't know what that is." He stood from the sofa he was sitting on and walked over to the large glass window overlooking the massive training field behind the Facility. It was snowing. A clear coat of frost covered the outside of the window. Just barely, he could feel the bitter cold biting the air outside. It wasn't as cold as the Himalayas, but it was close. "If I could build a suit of armor around the world."

"Sounds like a cold world, Tony," Bruce said cautiously.

"I've seen colder."

"What do you mean?"

His hand balled into a fist. He had been having nightmares about what Ultron's nanites showed him.

 _Tony himself stood on an asteroid. He held no need for air, and that fact didn't seem to disturb him. He turned away from the space whales and came across his team. His friends, scattered across the asteroid. Bloodied. Broken. Dead. Their weapons laid shattered near their broken bodies. Indestructible weapons crumbled into pieces._

 _Before him, yards in the distance, was a golden hover-chair. Its back was facing him, so he couldn't see who was sitting in it. He took a step toward it, then another._

 _"Tony," a weak voice called out to him. It was Steve, barely clinging to life. "You… you could have saved us," he mumbled quietly. "You could… ha-have done more…" His hand shot up in a burst of strength and grasped around his collar. "Wh-why didn't you save us?"_

 _His hand went limp and dropped to the ground._

He breathed in deeply to repress the memory. For as much as he told himself that it was just a hallucination, he knew deep down that it wasn't. He knew deep down that it wasn't just some concocted scenario like what Steve or Bruce suffered, or a distant memory like whatever Natasha saw. It was a vision of the future. Their future.

He never told anyone because he couldn't bear it.

"Tony?"

He slowly turned away from the window. When his eyes hit the others, he saw anxious expectation. "Ah, I saw Thanos. He kills you all." Bluntly was the best way to put it. Beating around the bush or sugarcoating it wasn't going to help anyone. "Before you died, Steve, you asked me why I didn't do more to save you." He looked Steve in the eyes. "Those words still haunt me, even if they haven't happened yet."

No one could say anything. Hearing that they were going to die, again, took what air had been in their sails just moments earlier.

"It was just Ultron fucking with your head, Tony," Natasha intoned quietly after a minute. "Whatever you saw, it wasn't real."

"It was," he argued. "It wasn't a trick I was shown. It wasn't a nightmare, it was my legacy. The end of the path I started us on."

"Tony," Steve started before stopping suddenly. The look in Tony's eyes was one that he had never seen in the billionaire genius. It wasn't determination, anger, or even apprehension. It was fear. Thanos scared him.

He scared all of them, even if they didn't want to admit it to anyone, even themselves.

"'Tis possible that Tony has witnessed a glimpse of the future," Thor said, but with none of his usual bluster. "I myself saw a vision of the infinity gems. I am unsure what manner of sorcery Ultron bestowed on his technology, but 'tis possible."

"But, it was just a vision of _a_ future," Pietro said. "Dr. Strange said that the future was fluid, meaning it always changes, right?"

"Right," Natasha affirmed. "But, he also said that there are events that the universe takes measures to ensure they happen. We were supposed to die. What if this is the universe making sure it happens this time?"

They knew that Dr. Strange would have been unwilling to bend the laws of time and space again to save them a second time. Either unwilling or unable.

" _While that is possible that this is our fate,"_ Vision started, _"that does not mean that we cannot change it. That is, I believe, the meaning of being in control of our own destiny."_

"That adage makes no sense," Wanda muttered.

Coulson, who had been silently watching and listening to the team morosely converse with one another for the last several minutes, cleared his throat to make his presence known once again. "I don't know anything about time or visions or anything like that, but I do know what it's like to cheat death a few times. You know it's going to happen and who will do it, that gives you an advantage. It means you can figure out how to stop it ahead of time. You guys have a laundry list of allies you can talk to, many of which are not of this world. Stop thinking you have to solve this on your own, because you don't."

He was right.

"He's right," Tony uttered. "We need to start preparing. We need to get better, or we won't make it. Whatever form that takes, I'm game."

Coulson sighed softly. "Well, you're in luck. I was in DC all day yesterday talking with Simpson and Ross about what we can do to improve hero response time. The plan that got the most traction was to place all active superheroes under the UN's authority. All conflicts would be reviewed by a UN panel. The Avengers, or whoever, would only be sent in if and when the panel deems it necessary."

At that, Steve's jaw tightened. It sounded too much like a global military for his liking. After hearing what Bucky went through with Hydra and their secret agendas, he didn't trust these kinds of organizations. They all had agendas. Even SHIELD; though, he trusted Coulson implicitly. "I don't know about that. We go along with something like that, we give up our right to choose when to handle a situation and when to stay out."

"I agree," Wanda said. "We managed to keep the deaths to a minimum yesterday because we could respond so quickly."

"We wait for a review board to give the okay, which can only be done with the majority agrees," Bruce said as he jumped into the conversation, "who knows how many people will have died. And if they say no?"

"They won't say no," Tony argued. "They can't. Not if it's a situation like the invasion."

"But, what if it isn't like the invasion? What if there's another mutant conflict somewhere, where _mutant_ lives are in danger? Half the planet doesn't like mutants after Magneto's shenanigans, much less trust them. They'll tell us no, and tell the X-Men to go screw themselves."

"These people have agendas," Steve concluded. "Every one of them is looking out for _their_ country and _their_ interests. Those agendas conflict with one another, creating a gridlock at the crucial time when time is of the essence. And when we need to react quickly to end a conflict before too many people die, that only handcuffs us." He stood from his seat and moved to stand next to Tony. "I can't agree to that if it gets put through the docket."

"We need something," Tony said with a shrug. It didn't sound like he liked the idea any more than anyone else. "We can't just keep doing our own thing anymore. We need to be organized."

" _We need to be organized, and held accountable for our mistakes, while being able to maintain a semblance of autonomy,"_ Vision summarized. _"The United Nations and the planet's governments have no interest in that, as they wish to use us for their own devices. As the captain stated, their agendas conflict with one another, creating chaos when we need order the most. However, there is a way we can mitigate that bureaucratic chaos: with a smaller, more intimate panel. One that is familiar with how we operate, and how we need to operate to be most effective. That simply cannot exist within the confines of the United Nations."_

"What are you saying?"

" _I am saying that the most logical solutions to this conundrum are to either fall back under the purview of SHIELD, or to create another World Security Council. One that can analyze the situation quickly and agree quickly, as they know that time is of the essence. They would have agendas, yes; but theirs would be similar to ours, which is protection of the planet. And, when necessary, they would allow us the autonomy to mobilize when the situation is dire enough."_

A new WSC? They all knew the secret agenda that the old WSC had. Coulson told all of them that they enabled the Masters of Evil. Everything that had gone wrong went wrong because WSC to be in control like they had been in the past. While they didn't know that Hydra was SHIELD, they had no issue working with Brandon Trent to eliminate a sizable portion of the hero community in the United States.

"I don't know if I want to deal with another council," Coulson declared. "But, SHIELD still isn't at a place where it can reliably support the Avengers, so I don't know."

Carol, who had been silent throughout the discussion, finally spoke up. "Why not just appoint members from within?" When met with confused glances, she elaborated. "I mean, why don't we appoint people we trust? Who said we have to go with a bunch of faceless suits?"

"Wouldn't their decisions be biased?" Bruce asked.

"That's good. They know how important it is for us to get out there as soon as possible, so they would cut the bullshit and decide quickly. That's what this is all about right? Getting our shit together while not having to sit around for hours or even days waiting for a phone call while people are out there dying, right?"

"A new World Security Council. One with insiders that we trust to make the right decision and to give us the business when we need it." When he said it out loud, Steve liked that idea. "I like it."

"Now, if _I_ had suggested that," Tony started with a snide smirk, "would you be saying the same thing?"

"Yes," he answered with a roll of his eyes.

It seemed that Coulson also liked the idea. "Alright. I'll call the President tomorrow and fill her in. Then, The Process® will begin in the UN. If we're lucky, we'll get an answer by the new year."

They laughed.

He didn't.

"Jesus."

"So long as they take their idea off the table, I'm fine with waiting." With that said, he got up and headed for his quarters. His intention was to call Bucky and see if he wanted to get some drinks. If he remembered correctly, one of them owed the other a few beers. He was halfway up the stairs when he noticed he was being followed. He turned slightly and saw that it was Carol. He then remembered what Pietro said before they entered Attilan. "Can we talk for a minute?"

She sighed, but silently followed him into his quarters. After he closed the door, she sat down on his bed.

"First, let me say I'm..." he didn't want to say proud, "glad you kept your... emotions in check yesterday. You played a big role in our win."

She nodded slowly. "But?"

Looked like she didn't want him to beat around the bush. "But, about what happened after it was over. It—"

"Needed to be said, Steve," she countered before he could get the words out of his mouth.

He started to answer, but stopped before the first word came out. The last thing he wanted was _another_ argument, especially with her. He didn't agree, but he didn't want to come off as though he was trying to lecture her. "It needed to be brought to their attention, yes, but not in that way. It came dangerously close to becoming a shouting match. If it wasn't for Storm and Cyclops—"

"They're the biggest hypocrites! They call the shots, Steve. If they didn't want to join with Magneto on Genosha, they wouldn't have. But, they did, so I don't want to hear how they wanted to avoid an argument. Not when they had no problem electrocuting you."

"They were hurting. They lost their friends," he explained patiently. "We failed to inform them in a timely manner, and they paid the price for our failure. They had every right to be angry with us."

"What are you talking about? The _New_ Avengers fought those new sentinels, not us. It's them they should be angry with, not us. They should have attacked _them_ , not us. But no, I get my brain shut down because they can't tell the difference."

He took note of her expression. Unlike when they talked on the quinjet, where she was scarily calm, she was visibly angry here. He took care to think about what he was going to say next. "That's not true. We fought them at the concentration camp in Romania last year. We... I was so caught up with the party, that I let it slip my mind. This is a failure not just on the New Avengers, but me also. We were all there, Carol, every one of us. Any one of use could have picked up a phone or went to the X-Mansion to brief them on the new sentinels, but we didn't."

The truth hit her like a bag of bricks. She went silent and let her gaze fall to the floor as the memories flooded back to confirm what he said. The anger slowly subsided from her features, replaced by what appeared to be shame.

"And, the X-Men weren't even available to help us. I went to the X-Mansion yesterday and asked to see the mission logs from that day. They had been in the Savage Land for a week, and didn't return to the States until we were already dead. Communication is impossible in and out of the Savage Land, and apparently they lost their powers, so they had no way of knowing what was happening."

"Oh."

He moved to sit down beside her and grabbed her hand. It was like grabbing a limp fish. Cold and clammy, with no effort to acknowledge his presence. "It's alright to be angry, but be angry at things that warrant anger. Like what Rogue and Mystique did to you. You have every right to hate them both, and I won't stop you. But, I won't let you project your hatred for them onto the other X-Men."

At hearing that, her brows creased. "Okay."

She sounded so defeated and it hurt him. But, sometimes, a person needed to hear the hard truth bluntly so they could stop and think about what they were doing. Carol was a good woman. He knew that when she thought about what he said, she would let it go.

He wrapped his arm around her and held her close. They sat on his bed, just the two of them. When she laid her head on his shoulder, his heart skipped a beat. "Let's get away for a bit. Just the two of us." It was a big leap. They hadn't even been on a single date, or even kissed.

"Where?"

"I don't know. I hear Wakanda is nice this time of year."

She smiled softly. "Thanks for being so patient with me," she mumbled softly. "I know I haven't been easy to deal with."

She kind of hadn't, but he wasn't about to say that. Besides, he knew that this wasn't an easy thing for her to deal with. To have to look at the two people who ruined her life and call them allies, even temporary ones, was a hard pill to swallow. That, he knew very well. "It's the least I could do. I-I really like you." Despite how matter-of-factly he tried to say it, he still blushed and his face still felt like it was on fire.

Yet, it felt like a huge weight had been lift off his shoulders. Those four words had been weighing on him for some time.

"I like you, too," she said dryly, or at least she tried to. To her chagrin, some of the bubbly excitement she was feeling leaked out.

He was grinning ear from ear, but his it by burying the lower half of his face in her hair. "I'll call T'Challa tomorrow and tell him we're coming by," he said, voice slightly muffled by her scalp.

"Okay. I'll start packing."

He nodded and started to get up. Before he left, he bent down and kissed her on the cheek, dangerously close to her lips. "I-I-I'll see you later," he stammered before all but running out of his own quarters. He didn't catch her face before he made a hasty retreat, but he hoped she wasn't too embarrassed. She did have a reputation of being a hardass to uphold.

A jaunty tune whistled through his lips as he almost skipped down the steps. Despite everything that was happening around them, something good was happening to him. Peggy would have been proud.

"Hey, Phil," he called out just before the SHIELD director could reach the front door. "Just wanted to ask if Dr. McCoy made any progress on reversing the effect the terrigen mist has on mutants."

Coulson was already shaking his head before he turned completely around. "Not yet. He confirmed that its a chemistry problem, though."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning he's pretty confident he can find a solution. Soon, I hope. It won't be long before Magneto finds out where the inhuman colony is."

Steve nodded in agreement. "If he does in the meantime, we'll stop him and whoever else he has with him."

"Good luck with that. If you thought the race war was bad, this will be worse."

"You think so?"

He nodded. "The Maximoffs think that the real reason he wants to wipe out the inhumans is because he feels threatened by them."

"He's afraid they'll take mutants' place as the new 'next step in human evolution'?" He sighed and jabbed his hands onto his hips. "When he's feeling up to it, we should fill Professor Xavier in, if the X-Men haven't already. He needs to know about them so he can get a headstart on the peace talks."

"Good idea. Let me know how that goes."

"Sure thing."

If it wasn't one thing, it was another. They hadn't been done with the most recent catastrophe and another one was looming on the horizon. There was still plenty of time to prevent it before it came to a head, but he didn't know how much time they had.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** One more chapter to go after this, guys! Also, there will be a special chapter after that, so make sure you stay after the end credits ;)_


	44. New Security

_**A/N:** The following chapter was inspired by Nienna Nir's **Domestic Dissension.** Credit goes to her. _

_Also, this is the final chapter of this story. Thanks to everyone who stuck with me along the way during the long breaks I've had to take. I really appreciate all the support you guys have give me. :-)_

* * *

 _ **New Security**_

 **Avengers Facility**

 **December 30, 2016**

Coulson wasn't joking when he said the UN would take until the end of the year to finally come to a decision. Ten months after the idea was proposed, and two days before the new year, they were given the nod to appoint new members to the new world security council. The biggest point of contention was the appointments were coming from "in-house", as that meant the UN would have had little to no influence on their decisions. Just how the Avengers, X-Men, the recently returned Fantastic Four, and other independent heroes wanted it.

In the meantime, a lot had changed. Bucky, Jessica, Thor, and Bruce officially rejoined the Avengers. Bucky and Jessica joined the New Avengers, which gave the team a sorely needed second female member, while Thor and Bruce joined the main Avengers.

When he returned, Thor informed them of Baron Zemo and Moonstone's punishments. Odin, to their disappointment, vowed not to kill them. That would have been too lenient, he declared. Instead, he got creative, rather than throwing them in a prison cell to rot away. First, he bestowed on them conditional immortality. Conditional in that it was only in effect as long as they were punished. If they escaped somehow, or he released them, it would immediately wear off.

For Moonstone, she was trapped in a forest in Vanaheim, within the clutches of a Brobdingnagian poisonous snake. Every minute for the rest of eternity, the snake would drip acidic venom onto Karla's face, causing her immense, unspeakable pain. Her screams could be heard to the widest reaches of the realm.

She, on the other hand, got off easy compared to Zemo. He was sent to a swamp in Svartalfheim, where he was tied to a hollowed out boat and sent adrift forever down a seemingly endless river. He was stripped of his clothing and drenched in milk and honey. Insects of every size, shape, and kind congregated around him, eating first the milk and honey dripping from his body, then his body itself. They concentrated on his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, genitals, and anus, burying deep inside him to lay their eggs. Because he was immortal, he was in no danger of dying of dehydration, starvation, or from being eaten alive. His flesh would revive every so often to give the insects more to devour. When their young finally hatched, they ate their way out of him, and the cycle would begin anew.

An eternity of suffering was the fate of those who challenged the gods.

With Zemo out of the way, they were sure that the Masters of Evil were going to be dissolved, which was going to make their lives a bit easier. Only a little bit.

Tony remained retired, much to his wife's delight, but took on a consolatory role with the Avengers teams, with her blessing. They were going to be using his input a lot, so they might as well have made it official.

The ten months passed without any major incidents, which was usually how it went after a major catastrophe. They were sure it wasn't going to last, but they were ready for whatever the future held.

"You ready?"

Tony and Steve walked down the paved sidewalk leading from the training field to the facility. At the end of the path, on the other side of the door, they could see Coulson and May waiting for them inside. "As I'll ever be. I still don't know why you tapped me."

"People feel compelled to do what you say," Tony replied with a smirk. When Steve didn't appear impressed by his humor, he sighed softly. "Because we trust you. There's no one in this building that we trust more than you."

That seemed to put him at ease a little. Steve had been a captain of his own company, the Howling Commandos, and was the leader of the Avengers. He was used to making the difficult decisions that threatened to, and did, keep him up at night. Even with that in mind, he didn't want to be a member of the new council. The decisions didn't just affect him and his small band of followers, but the entire world.

One mistake could have led to a lot of people dying. He didn't want that on his conscience. At the same time, he would rather have it on his than anyone else. "Then, I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" He gave a slight smile and opened the door to walk inside.

"Captain Rogers. Mr. Stark," Coulson greeted with a sharp nod.

"Director Agent. Agent Mindy May."

"Don't make me hurt you, Stark."

"Director Coulson. Agent May. Is everyone present and accounted for?"

"For the most part, yes. There are a few stragglers that are cutting it a bit close," Coulson answered. He handed them a holographic folder. Held within were several dossiers of the new members. Several of them, including them, had a green box around their names.

"Any word on the possible infinity gem Monica found?" Tony asked.

"Not yet. We can't even get into Latveria to question the von Bardas LMD. The borders closed soon after the invasion was over." His lips quirked up slightly. "We're keeping tabs on them as best we can, but our hands are tied."

"Sounds like a job for the Avengers?" Tony offered.

"If the borders are closed, we can't go in unless there's a more tangible reason than a _possible_ infinity gem," Steve answered.

Instead of being disappointed, like he thought he would have been, Tony grinned and slapped Steve on the shoulder. "See? You're thinking like a cockblocking councilman already."

"Just trying to keep people out of prison. Or worse."

"All due respect, Captain," May said in a measured tone, "I think the threat of an omega level item being horded in a country with a history of hostility is reason enough to do some investigating."

She had a point. The gem was too dangerous, but there was a lot to consider. "We'll put it on the agenda."

Janet and Clint were waiting outside of one of the smaller meeting rooms. It was then that he remembered that today was also the monthly meeting between three Avengers team leaders. His shoulders slumped dramatically. "I don't suppose we can't postpone until tomorrow?" He didn't know why he agreed to have two meetings, both of which were sure to be long, in the same day.

"We have a New Year's party to host, Steve," Clint reminded him. "Bobbi's been planning this for a week."

Far be it for him to get Clint in trouble. "I have to fire my personal assistant."

"Is this other meeting even that serious?" Janet asked snidely. "Surely being with me is more important."

"I see you're as full of yourself as ever," her former SO remarked.

Janet wrapped an arm around the older Chinese woman's shoulders. "Just look into his gorgeous blue eyes, Melinda. He's totally still hot for me."

"Still? I never was."

"Liar."

"Don't you have a boyfriend to have gross bug sex with?" Tony asked with a smirk.

She scoffed and waved him off dismissively. "What Scott and I do in our hive is our business."

"And even if it wasn't," Coulson interjecting in an attempt to steer the conversation back toward a pertinent subject, "we have to report everything we discuss and decide to the UN. Once they find out and learn what an infinity gem is..."

"The people with agendas will want it for themselves," Steve finished. Coulson nodded in agreement, as did May.

"Aren't you guys being a bit paranoid?" Janet, whose arm remained on May's shoulder, inquired with an uneasy sweeping glance.

"Everyone has agendas, Jan."

"Even you, Cap?" Clint inquired with a sly smile.

Steve matched it with one of his own. "Especially me."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Jesus. You've already seen Carol naked. What more could you want?"

"What was that, dear?" The voice of his wife and Stark Industries CEO Pepper Stark floated in from inside another conference room at the end of the hall.

Tony swallowed nervously and whirled around to disengage her with his dazzling charm. "Oh, nothing, my love." He ignored the retching noises from Clint. "Just discovering that the good Captain has a secret agenda."

She saw right through it, but played along anyway. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really. It's not at all surprising and has been in motion since the moment he laid eyes on the fair Major Danvers." Behind him, Steve was glaring holes in the back of his head. They were trying to keep their relationship private. Then again, nothing was private when it came to Tony. Except, funnily enough, for his own business. "Are we ready?"

"We are," she replied with a peck on his cheek. "Gentlemen, if you will."

Coulson, Steve, and Tony stepped inside the conference room. Before Janet and Clint could poke their heads inside, Tony nearly slammed the door in their faces. "Sorry, cool kids only."

"I didn't wanna go in there anyway," she muttered when the door closed with a soft click. "So, May, how's the dating scene going?"

"Get your arm from around my shoulder."

Her face soured, but that didn't stop her from doing so hastily. "Pent up much? I know some studs who can knock the bats out of the belfry. You like hunky beefcakes, right?" She winked and smirked.

May's lips quirked ever so slightly. "I'm done with younger men."

"Great! I know a nicer older gentleman who is in desperate need of some companionship. I mean, he eats dinner with ants for Pete's sake!"

"Pym?" Janet nodded. "Pass." Before any arguments could be offered, she stalked off to parts unknown.

Janet scoffed again. "God, she needs to get laid. There's no telling how long it's been since she lost her groove."

Clint smirked and snickered. "You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

His smirk fell away. "You remember Agent Ward?"

How could she have forgotten? His dreamy blue eyes, his ripped body, and his model's face. He was gorgeous. It was too bad he was a Hydra agent. Then again, it wouldn't have been the first time she had been with a bad guy. Oh well. "Of course I do."

He nodded in the direction where May left. "He's her ex."

"No way." She peered in that direction.

"They were dating on the low for a long time. At least since after we were killed."

"How'd they break up? Protocol? He whispered 'Hail Hydra' in her ear?"

"The second one; and after that, he stabbed her in the stomach. She was pregnant at the time, so, yeah."

She gasped quietly. "I... I didn't know. Shit, she must think I'm an asshole."

"I'm sure she thinks that regardless."

"I'm serious, Clint. That isn't something you get over."

"May did. She's... special. You'd never know what she's been through by looking at her. You ever hear of the word compartmentalization?" She shook her head. "You take what's not important and you put it on the backburner. What is important is at the forefront. Everything has its place in your heart. Some compartments are bigger than others." He sighed and started to walk back to the conference room where they had been waiting for Steve. "It's how SHIELD agents cope with their lives."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah." A beat passed without a word being said between the two of them. "So, you and Lang, huh?"

And just like that, Janet's somber demeanor vanished like dewdrops in the morning sunlight. "Yeah, I know. Princess and the pauper."

He chuckled. "Talk about swinging for the fences. But, if Peter can date a supermodel, I guess Lang can nab an heiress. So, when's the wedding?"

Whatever fond smile had been playing on her lips died instantly. "Shut up."

"Hey, look on the bright side. At least your daughter will be out of the house soon." He laughed until she slugged him in the arm. "Ow!"

The main conference room was actually where the Avengers held their team meetings and briefings. The room wasn't anything special. In the center of the spacious room was a lengthy, oval-shaped oak table with the stylized A logo in the center. Around the table were ten chairs, each with a discreet builtin holographic projector that allowed them to hold Council meetings without actually having all the members present.

Which was good, because they were missing a few.

"Jo, Blackout Protocol."

The lights blinked once and there was a soft hum that died down after a few seconds. _"Communications in and out of the room have been switched to a secure line. The area has been scanned for any surveillance devices. We are secure,"_ she announced.

"Well, well. Tony Stark is actually on time."

"There's a first time for everything. How are you, Susan?"

Dr. Sue Richards smiled brightly and stood to give him a quick hug. "Very good, thank you. Glad to finally be home." Once he found out what happened to the Baxter Building, Tony paid for the building to be rebuilt himself. Construction finished just in time for the Fantastic Four to have a home when they returned from outer space. "I was just telling Jean and Pepper about our space adventures the last two years."

"Ah, yes. Where have you guys been?"

"Long story short? We saved Galactus after he had been almost completely drained of his power cosmic. Reed ended up in space prison because of that and had to stand trial."

"Space trial," Jean helpfully corrected.

She made a face, but grinned softly. "Space trial. Obviously, he was acquitted and we were able to come home." Her grin fell some as she recalled just how close the jury's final decision was. It was just barely in favor of acquitting him. If it wasn't for the fact that the universe literally could not survive without Galactus, he would have been executed. "Well, it's great to be back. Thanks again for rebuilding the Baxter Building. A lot of people were put out of a home."

"Believe me, it was no issue," Tony replied with a casual wave of his hand. "The last thing I wanted to see was hundreds of people out on the street because some punks couldn't control their emotions."

"Just so you know," Coulson interjected, "we caught the culprits and charged them with domestic terrorism. They won't be seeing the light of day for quite some time."

She sighed and nodded. "They were so young. I don't understand why they targeted us?"

"Public faces of the opposition and all that," Tony replied. "I'm surprised they went to _those_ lengths, but not that they targeted you. Now, then. Is this everyone?"

The door opened, and T'Challa walked inside. Closing the door quietly behind him, he bowed apologetically. "I apologize for my tardiness. It is much more difficult to take time away from my duties when the world is not in danger."

"Huh. So Panther does use the front door."

"This is one of those rare occasions."

The holographic form of Abigail Brand materialized over one of the chairs. _=These government meetings are a pain in my ass,=_ she muttered darkly.

"Tell me about," Coulson uttered. "Where at this time?"

 _=Russia. They keep trying to procure on of the Kree corpses.=_ She sighed heavily and swept a lock of green hair out of her face. _=Putin's up to something, and my boot's gonna be up his ass if he doesn't back off.=_

"I'll take care of him. Maybe I can borrow Natasha for a bit."

The latter statement was more of a question, obviously directed at Steve. The captain's lips quirked upward when he visualized the Russian expatriate's face if and when Coulson asked her. "That's her decision, Phil. I'm sure she won't mind intimidating that wannabe dictator."

 _=I don't care what you do, as long as it gets him off my back.=_

"How many of the Kree do you have in your possession, Director Brand?" Sue asked curiously.

= _Twelve. Only two of them are still alive. We tried our best to accommodate their need for more nitrogen, but that apparently wasn't good enough.=_

"Have you gotten anything out of them, like what they planned on doing with the inhumans?"

Brand shook her head. = _Not a thing. These looked like the foot soldiers, so I doubt they actually know anything. I wish that Mahr-Vehl guy was still around. He could probably fill in the blanks.=_

Mahr-Vehl had been called away shortly after he spoke with Thor in Rio de Janeiro, and thus wasn't able to meet up with any of the other Avengers. They hadn't heard from him since.

"Would it help if they spoke with one of their own?" Jean pondered. "Ms. Marvel is part Kree, right?"

Steve nodded in affirmation. "She is. It may help speaking to someone who speaks their language. To make them more at ease."

= _I speak Kree,=_ Brand casually revealed.

Tony's eyes were wide with shock. "H-how?"

 _=I'm a mutant,=_ she said with a shrug, as though it weren't a big deal.

To Coulson, however, it was as if he had just reached enlightenment. "I knew it. I knew you didn't just punch Strucker in the face! Classified my a—"

 _=You still on that, Coulson? And let's not forget you pulled that shit with me first.=_

As for everyone else, everyone but Jean seemed to be at least somewhat surprised. "If that's the case, it won't make a difference. Do you plan on further detaining them, or will you let them go?"

= _Detain them. We can't afford for them to tell their friends all about what happened here. News travels slowly in space, so I figure we have another few years before the Kree send someone to investigate what happened to Ronan. By that point, we'll be ready.=_

She hoped, anyway.

"Are you not forgetting something, Mrs. Stark?"

Pepper looked at T'Challa strangely, then realized what he was talking about. "Oh! Right. Roll call, Jocasta. Record the World Security Council member names and biometrics, then seal it. Black Box protocol."

" _Yes, Mrs. Stark. Virginia Stark – Chairwoman. Director Phillip Coulson – Director of SHIELD. Director Abigail Brand – Director of SWORD. Captain Steven Rogers – Avengers Initiative. Dr. Susan Richards – Fantastic Four. Dr. Jean Grey-Summers – X-Men. King T'Challa – Wakanda. Anthony Stark – Consultant. Names and biometrics recorded and seal within the parameters of the Black Box protocol."_

"Thank you, Jocasta. Sorry about that, guys. This is my first time."

Tony could have said something lewd. In fact, his face told that it was on the tip of his tongue. Instead, he swallowed that and gave her hand a supportive squeeze. "You'll do great. You wouldn't have been voted chairwoman if we didn't have faith in your abilities."

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Tony."

"You're welcome. Now, how's about we get this show on the road?"

She nodded and picked up a small gavel that was resting by her hand. "I hereby call the first meeting the new World Security Council to order."

With those words, the world officially entered into a new era. The world's security was in their hands. The people in that room had proven themselves time and again; whether in the boardroom, throne room, war room, or on the battlefield. The eight people in that conference room were the eight best people to carry the fates of over eight billion people on their shoulders. They didn't have a choice. If they failed, it only set the world's superheroes back that much further behind the eight ball.

There were a lot of concerns to be discussed that first meeting. First and foremost, the possibility of there being an infinity gem in Latveria, and whether that hunch was enough to breech its closed borders. They had done so once before, and it had cost the country a leader. They had no idea who the leader was, or if Doom had returned. The clues all added up to the conclusion that he had and he was laying low until the time was right to make his move.

If that was the case, they were in for a world of trouble. Doom, more than anyone else, was not someone to be taken lightly. The specter of the emerald cloaked egomaniac loomed over the new council. If and when he decided to act, he wasn't going to get what he wanted without a fight. The Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four were going to be standing in his, or anyone else's, way.

Now and forever.

– **End–**


	45. Post Credit Scenes

_**A/N:** As promised, here are three post credit scenes that will set up the next two stories I have planned. The first takes place at some point during the Kree Invasion, the second some months after the final chapter, and the last after Chapter 36. _

* * *

**Asgard**

The prison cells Odin had Loki and Amora locked in were silent. Amora was laying on her bed, eyes closed, but she was not asleep. Loki was also sitting on his bed, one leg draped over the side and dangled precariously close to the floor. His mind was preoccupied by the book his was reading – The Once and Future King.

It had been some time since Thor had last come visit them. Not that Loki gave a care. If it were up to him, the blonde oaf would not be allowed to see him ever again. Amora would disagree, but the day he gave credence to her opinion on Thor would have been the same day Muspelheim froze over.

The door opened, and his heart skipped a beat. His eyes shot toward the short corridor leading from the prison cells to the door. Time slowed to a crawl and ticked forward second by second as though time itself was vexed over the identity of their visitor.

A redheaded woman in a flowing blue dress stepped inside, followed closely by Skurge. Loki allowed himself a wry smile as his heart slowed to its normal gait. "My dear Lorelei. To what do I owe this unexpected surprise?"

"Dearest Loki. My dear, sweet sister, Amora. I come bearing a gift." She snapped her fingers. At once, Skurge handed her a pair of clear bobbles. One was full of green liquid of some manner, and the other full of blue liquid. "The gift of sweet freedom."

"So, you managed to do as I asked," Amora stated as she stood from her bed and pressed her hands against the translucent cell wall. "Very good, my sister. Now, give it to me, so that I may regain my power and escape this dreadful place."

Loki raised a curious eyebrow. He recalled the times when Lorelei visited in the past, but could not recall when such a conversation as the one Amora was alluding to could have taken place. Unless it transpired when he was asleep, which very well may have been the case.

Skurge stepped over and handed it to her through the hatch used to deliver their meals. With haste, she cracked it open. Immediately, the liquid turned into smoke and was inhaled. Seconds passed, Amora doing nothing but standing stock still, head tilted toward the floor. Slowly, her head rose, revealing that her eyes were filled and overflowing with her emerald magical power. Her hand extended outward. A green circle formed in midair, enclosing around a pentagram of the same color.

The next instant, a white burst of energy exploded forth, shattering the translucent energy wall keeping her contained within the cell.

She stepped out, and changed her appearance immediately. Whereas afore, she had been dressed in a boring gray tunic, she was then wearing a long, flowing, vibrant green dress of a similar design to her sister's. Whereas afore, she appeared to be rather thin and of a pale complexion, her figure became fitter and more curvaceous, and her skin became as flawless as a new sculpted marble statue. "Oh, yes!"

Once again, she was Amora the Enchantress.

Skurge was at a loss for words. His eyes drunk in her regard like a hungry wolf. "Ah.. Milady."

She smiled, that of a predator with an easy prey in her sight, and stepped past her sister until she was standing in front of him. "Mighty Executioner." She blew him a magically imbued kiss. The magic infected him, immediately placing him under her entrancing spell. She most assuredly noticed her sister's expression sour.

Loki watched this transpire with a gleeful grin. Amora had regained her power. And it appeared that Lorelei had thought to provide the same for him.

Noticing him watching, Lorelei smirked. "I have not forgotten thee, Loki." She took his bobble from a still discombobulated Skurge and handed it to Loki herself.

The same as Amora, he cracked his open and breathed in the mist that billowed forth. Immediately, he could feel his body, every cell in his makeup, being filled by the icy cold chill of his once long lost power. His eyes filled with cerulean energy. "At long last." A theatrical wave of his hands, and gone was his gray tunic. In its place was his green and black armor, complete with golden helm and cape.

Once again, he was Loki Laufeyson, God of Mischief.

He effortlessly stepped through the cell walls keeping him hemmed in. "You have my eternal thanks, my sweet," he said honestly before kissing her hand. "However, this is no time for celebration or revenge. I have much work to do."

"Oh? And what is that?" she asked curiously, seemingly not at all embarrassed by the drooling herculean soldier behind her.

He chuckled to himself, his sharp mind already formulating a strategy that made use of the three Asgardians afore him. "Tell me. Are any of you aware of the infinity gems?"

* * *

 **Somewhere in Deep Outer Space**

A lone asteroid floated aimlessly through the pitch black vastness of outer space. The lone inhabitant of that asteroid waited patiently, as he had been for years. The lone inhabitant was seated upon a throne made of stone, situated in such a way that he could observe the ebony void surrounding him. He was not disturbed by the lack of air. In fact, he didn't notice it at all, nor did he notice that bitter cold accompanying it.

A single space craft landed silently several yards away from him. His back was turned toward the ship, but he already knew who it was.

Nebula exited the craft, a single black box in her possession.

"Where is the Kree?" he spoke. His voice sounded as vast and powerful as the void surrounding them.

"He's dead," she answered bluntly.

He didn't respond. He didn't care. "Did you retrieve the gem?"

"No. I was attacked by one of the powered humans. The gem was lost." She stepped toward him, not afraid of his wrath. "I don't come empty-handed, however." She stopped walking and tossed the black box toward him.

His hand, covered by a gleaming gold glove, shot out and caught the box. He opened it, and smiled.

The power gem.

"You have done well, Nebula," he said.

She allowed herself a small smile before it faded into the ether. "That's not all. I know where the mind gem is." She activated a holographic projector installed in her cybernetic arm. "It's embedded in this android's forehead."

"Excellent. The power gem is in my possession. The mind and time gems are on this planet Earth. The reality gem is with the Collector. The soul gem is fused with Adam Warlock. The space gem is on Asgard." He knew where every last one of the gems were located. Fate had smiled on him at last.

"I need to assemble another crew, but I'll be ready to start shortly."

"No." Thanos, the Mad Titan, rose from his seat and stepped down the many stairs leading from his suspended throne until he was standing on the same level as she was. As he walked down, he added the power gem to a molded cavity within his left gauntlet. The first of six. His eyes flashed purple for a brief moment, then returned to their normal pitch black color. "I will do it myself."

* * *

 **Castle Doom – Doomstadt, Latveria**

Sasha Barron, secret ruler of the sovereign country of Latveria, sat on her throne within the regal walls of Castle Doom. She had been ruling from the shadows ever since the secret war SHIELD waged more than two years ago that saw the assassination of Lucia von Bardas.

She was waiting on a Doombot to return after she had dispatched it to retrieve an item of vast power from a mausoleum in Doomswood forest. Sensors strategically placed within the forest detected that extraterrestrials and Spectrum had infiltrated the country. There was little doubt that they were there for the infinity gem Victor von Doom hid within the mausoleum just before his disappearance.

The mausoleum in question belonged to the von Doom family. Hence, Barron did not dare organize any kind of search out of fear of any magical traps that lay hidden within. She did not care a whit about Spectrum or any aliens. If they triggered the traps, then that only made her ensuing search that much easier.

She looked up when the Doombot in question returned, a gleaming orange gem in its hand. She flashed a satisfactory smile and took the gem.

The power contained within the orange stone was nearly overwhelming just from holding it. She could feel the unfathomable power thrumming against her skin. It was unreal.

Quickly, she placed it inside an adamantium box and placed it inside a hidden compartment in the arm of her throne. "Excellent. With even just one of these gems, no one will trifle with Hydra. Now, or ever! Hail Hydra!"

Suddenly, no sooner had finished speaking, an orange portal opened in the middle of the throneroom. Streaks of energy crackled from the opening like out of control bolts of lightning. They ran across the scarlet red carpet and stone floor, leaving pitch black burn marks across both all the same.

"No, Agent Barron," spoke a man from within the portal.

Her eyes grew to saucers. She started to shake, suddenly growing very fearful. "No, it can't be!"

The man stepped out of the portal.

"You're supposed to be dead!" she screamed insistently.

The man was clad in a gleaming silver power-armor, and that armor was cloaked with a green tunic and a hooded green cape. "There will be no more praise for that infernal snake pit," he spoke, as if she hadn't said anything at all. His voice, his dramatic manner of speaking, gave his simple statement a histronic effect befitting a legendary stage actor. A single blast erupted from his gauntlet, which vaporized Agent Barron immediately upon contact. "The only one who is to be glorified is **DOOM.** "

* * *

 _ **A/N:** And that's that. Thanks again for all the support and sticking with me throughout. The next story, **Doom's Day,** will start in March, like I said before. Also, **Untold Stories** will start at the first of the year. _

_Have a happy and safe holidays, everyone!_


End file.
